BACKGROUND: Follow-up is critically important for stroke survivors with diabetes, yet there is limited research about the quality of diabetes care that these patients receive. We investigated performance on diabetes quality of care indicators for stroke survivors overall and by race. METHODS: Claims data was extracted for 1,460 Medicare beneficiaries with preexisting diabetes who survived hospitalization for acute ischemic stroke in 2000. Adjusted probabilities of receiving HbA1c, LDL and dilated eye exams were estimated using logistic regression. RESULTS: 53% had a dilated eye exam, 60% received an LDL check, 73% percent had their HbA1c checked at least once and only 51% received two or more HbA1c checks. In the unadjusted results, blacks were significantly less likely than whites to receive these tests. CONCLUSIONS: Care of stroke survivors, particularly blacks, shows gaps according to guidelines.