Over the past thirty years, the prevalence of asthma and allergies has increased significantly in France, as in many industrialized countries. The few epidemiological studies conducted in Réunion indicate that this French department in the Indian Ocean is particularly affected by asthma. This report describes asthma-related mortality in Réunion during the period 1990–1998, as well as asthma-related morbidity requiring hospitalization during the period 1998–2002. The results of this study confirm the significance of asthma in Réunion in terms of public health: asthma-related mortality there is, depending on age group and sex, 3 to 5 times higher than in mainland France, and hospitalizations for asthma are twice as frequent. Hypotheses are proposed to explain the differences observed compared to mainland France. Recommendations are made to improve asthma care in Réunion, and proposals are put forward to expand local knowledge of its epidemiology. (R.A.)