In the context of a declining incidence of AIDS in France the observed rise in cases of AIDS from 1999 onwards in immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa has prompted a descriptive survey of HIV infected patients from this region receiving treatment in hospitals in Ile-de-France (Paris and its suburban districts). This study, carried out by the Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS) in the first half of 2002, described the social and demographic characteristics of these patients, including their living conditions, the circumstances surrounding their diagnosis with HIV, and subsequent medical treatment.