A study was performed to describe public health research in Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe. A questionnaire was developed in collaboration with SPHERE (Strengthening Public Health Research in Europe) and the national public health associations of 23 countries participated in the Survey. A common problem amongst participating countries, that emerged from survey results, was found to be the lack of infrastructure and personnel; differences in future priorities were found. There is a need to strengthen collaboration between public health associations and policy makers in order to find effective solutions to common problems.