Information about psychotropic drug prescribing in one general practice was compared with overall information about such prescribing in Australia. Over the period 1978-81 there was a significant reduction in the number of prescriptions issued for psychotropic drugs. Prescriptions for hypnotics, sedatives and minor tranquilizers were more common than those for antidepressants or major tranquilizers. The indications for prescribing were distributed equally among three groups of conditions: psychological disorders, sleep problems and physical diseases. Patients for whom psychotropic drugs were prescribed had a greater overall morbidity and used medical care services more than other patients. Only 9% of patients in 1981 were issued with a prescription for one of the four most commonly prescribed psychotropic drugs. A relatively small proportion of patients, most of them elderly women, received the largest proportion of the prescriptions.