Aims and objectives - To determine the prevalence, pattern and the level of awareness of diabetic retinopathy (DR), its complications, risk factors and treatment options among persons with diabetes mellitus attending the diabetes clinic at Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos, Nigeria. Methodology - This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study in which an interviewer-administered questionnaire was administered to consecutive old and new diabetic patients aged ≥18years. All participants had visual acuity measurements, anterior segment examination with the slit lamp biomicroscope and posterior segment examination with fundus non-contact lens (+78D). Fundus photograph taken for those with significant retinopathy. Results - Out of 356 participants, 120 (33.7%) were males and 236 (66.3%) were females giving a male to female ratio of 1:2. The mean age of the study population was 56.6 ± 12.3 years, with a range of 21-89 years. There were 185 (52%) participants between the ages of 41 and 60 years. Two hundred and fifty (70.2%) of the participants had at least primary school education. The prevalences of diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema were 66 (18.5%) and 51 (14.3%) respectively, with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy being the commonest finding in 25 (7.0%) of the participants. Only 3 (4.8%) of participants with diabetic retinopathy were blind. Awareness of the effect of diabetes on the eye was high, with 352 (98.9%) being aware, but only 38 (10.7%) were aware of diabetic retinopathy. There were 22 (6.2%) participants who thought diabetes can cause blindness even with good glycaemic control, and 67 (18.8%) who thought there was a relationship between duration of diabetes and blindness. One hundred and sixty-eight (47.2%) participants had never been examined by an ophthalmologist and 111 (31.2%) thought they needed to be referred by a physician first .