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Background: Drug abuse is now-a-days one of the gravest social harms. Recent years have experienced a drastic rise in drug abuse among school and university students. Thus, the need for special attention to the issue is deemed important. The present study was conducted with the aim of assessing the impact of life skills training on promotion of drug abuse preventive behaviors. Methods: This field trial experimental study was conducted on 60 students of Gonabad Medical University selected through quota random sampling and assigned randomly into two Intervention and control groups. Data were collected through a questionnaire, including two sections of demographic information and drug abuse preventive behaviors. The questionnaire was first assessed as to its validity and reliability and then administered both before and after educational intervention and also as a follow-up 4 years after intervention - Data were then analyzed using t-tests and Chi-square. Results: Comparison of post-test mean scores of drug abuse preventive behaviors of both groups showed a significant difference (P < 0.01) which remained stable 4 years after intervention. There was a significant relationship between father's educational level and drug abuse preventive behaviors (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Life skills' training is effective in the promotion of drug abuse preventive behaviors of university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]