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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disorder which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. During the last 10 years the new biologic drugs have improved the prognosis substantially. In 2005 the QUEST-RA (Quantitative Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis) project was established for comparison of disease status and treatment in RA patients across different countries. In this article we present data from RA patients in Norway comparing with other European countries and the USA. Material and method: The study population consisted of 200 randomly selected RA patients recruited from outpatient clinics at Sørlandet Hospital in Kristiansand (n=100) and St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim (n=100). Data on demographics, disease severity and treatment was collected according to protocol. Results: Only minor differences were found for age, education and disease activity between RA patients in Norway and the other countries. Disease severeness and disease status in the Norwegian RA patients was comparable with RA patients from countries reporting the lowest disease activity and had the best health status. In our Norwegian RA patients 30% were treated with biologics. Norway is among the countries that has the highest proportion of RA patients on biologic drugs. Conclusion: RA patients in Norway are among those countries in Europe reporting lowest disease activity. One reason may be the relative high proportion of RA patients in Norway treated with biologic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]