Our objective was to describe the clinical manifestations, laboratory data, and prognosis in male Chinese lupus patients in Taiwan. Seventy-two male lupus patients, diagnosed and followed in Tri-Service General Hospital between 1983 and 1996, were studied and their clinical data analyzed, retrospectively. The mean age at diagnosis was 34+/-16 y (mean+/-s.d., range: 13-82 y). The peak incidence of age at diagnosis was between 13 and 40 years. The three most frequent clinical manifestations were renal disease, 75%; malar rash, 61%; and arthritis, 53%. The three most frequent abnormal laboratory findings were anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), 97%; hypocomplementemia, 76%; and anti-ds DNA, 57%. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 85%, 76%, and 75%, respectively. In summary, a higher frequency of renal disease, malar rash and photosensitivity, but a lower frequency of arthritis and lymphadenopathy were demonstrated in our 72 ethnic Chinese male Taiwanese lupus patients compared to previous reports of Caucasians. The prognosis seems to be similar to that of both Chinese and Caucasian males but seems to be poor when compared to either Chinese or Caucasian female lupus patients.