BACKGROUND The World Health Report 2002 indicated that excessive alcohol intake was one of the five major contributors to morbidity and mortality in developing and developed countries. Alcohol misuse is on the increase globally. It was a leading cause of disease burden in low mortality developing countries and developed countries where it contributed 6.2% and 9.2% respectively. Easy access to alcohol is a major contributor to excessive consumption. Consequently, communities that brew alcohol such as those in Bayelsa State are expected to have higher prevalence of alcohol misuse and abuse than others. There are however, no documented reports of researches on the prevalence of this high-risk behaviour in Okoloba community of Bayelsa State and therefore preventive health interventions have not been prescribed. This study sets out to fulfil the following objective: OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of alcohol misuse in Okoloba community in Bayelsa State, describe the characteristics of the alcohol misusers and determine the social and health impacts of alcohol misuse on the victims. Another objective is to determine measures for the reduction of alcohol consumption in this community. MATERIALS AND METHODS The assessment of alcohol misuse in this community was carried out by interviewing community members randomized into study and control groups, using a questionnaire adapted from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) screening Questions, and clinical examination of the subjects. The study group comprised residents of the community aged at least sixteen years with or without a history of alcohol use in the receding twelve months before the study. Each subject was interviewed using the questionnaire and examined to detect presence of signs that show the health impact of alcohol misuse. Informed consent obtained from the Ethic’s Committee 1 of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, community leaders and individuals before the study was carried out. RESULTS Three hundred and twenty-two (322) persons consisting of 167 alcohol users and 155 abstainers were recruited into the study. There were 166 (52%) males and 156 (48%) females. The subjects were aged between 16 and 65 years of age with a mean age of 41.6 years( standard deviation of ±2). The modal age group was 46-55 years (this predominant age group consist of 26%). Among the 167 alcohol users 52 were classified as misusers giving an alcohol misuse rate of 31.1% among the alcohol consumers and prevalence of 16.15% general in the population. The characteristics of the users significantly associated with alcohol misuse were low educational status (77%), cigarette smoking(75.5%) polygamy (62%), Palm wine tapers(16%) and African Traditional Religion practitioners(14%). Medical and social problems commonly found among alcohol misusers in the study were smoking (75.5%), intimate partner violence (51%), accidents (23%) and high blood pressure (15%). Tongue tremor was found in 67% of the alcohol misusers. CONCLUSION The prevalence rate of alcohol misuse among the users 31.1% and 16.2% in the general study population makes alcohol misuse as an important family and public health problem in this community. Alcohol use and misuse were associated with a number of social and health problems that adversely affect individuals and the quality of family life. There is therefore an urgent need to control measures to mitigate the impact of alcohol problems in this community.