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Objective To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for reproductive tract infections among men and women in a rural community in Bangladesh. Methods In the Matlab area a systematic sample of married non-pregnant women aged 15-50 years was drawn from a comprehensive household registration system for married women. A systematic sample of married and unmarried men in the same age group was drawn from a census-derived demographic surveillance list. Private interviews were conducted with 804 women in a clinic, and cervical, vaginal, urinary and serological samples were collected. Urine and blood specimens were obtained from 969 men who were interviewed at home. Findings The prevalence of bacterial and viral reproductive tract infections was low to moderate. For example, fewer than 1% of the women had a cervical infection. No cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were found. However, among men there was a high level of reported risk behaviour and a low level of protection against infection. Conclusion A low prevalence of reproductive tract infections, coupled with a high level of reported risk behaviour, indicated a need for primary programmes that would prevent an increase in the incidence of reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted infections and HIV infection. Keywords Genital diseases, Female/epidemiology; Genital diseases, Mal/epidemiology; Sexually transmitted diseases/epidemiology; HIV infections/epidemiology; Risk factors; Sex behavior; Marital status; Cross-sectional studies; Bangladesh (source: MESH, NLM). Mots cles Gynecologique, Maladie/epidemiologie; Appareil genital masculin, Maladies/epidemiologie; Maladies sexuellement transmissibles/epidemiologie; HIV, Infection/epidemiologie; Facteur risque; Comportement sexuel; Situation matrimoniale; Etude section efficace; Bangladesh (source: MESH, INSERM). Palabras clave Enfermedades de los genitales femeninos/epidemiologia; Enfermedades de los genitales masculinos/epidemiologia; Enfermedades sexualmente transmisibles/epidemiologia; Factores de riesgo; Infecciones pot VIH/epidemiologia; Conducta sexual; Estado civil; Estudios transversales; Bangladesh (fuente: DeCS, BIREME). Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2002;80:180-188., Introduction The control of reproductive tract infections (RTIs), especially sexually transmitted infections (STIs), is an urgent health priority in many countries (1-4). Policy-makers should be able to set health sector [...]