A prospective multi-center Italian urology outpatient survey, undertaken to determine the prevalence of prostatitis in Italy, provided an ideal opportunity to identify and characterize the typical prostatitis patient presenting to Italian urologists. A total of 70 urologists, representing a cross section of urologic centers in Italy, counted and recorded the overall total male patients reported in the clinic and the overall total patients diagnosed with prostatitis over a 5 week period in late 2001. Data on demographics, previous diagnoses, symptoms (frequency and severity), quality of life, physical examination and laboratory data were prospectively collected. A total of 1,148 patients were identified with prostatitis (12.8%). Of these, 1,074 patients had complete data and could be included in this characterization analysis. The mean age of the prostatitis patients was 47.1 years (range 16-83); two thirds had experienced their first symptom within the last year. A family history of prostatitis was reported by 20.4%. The most common urinary diseases were benign prostatic hyperplasia (17.4%), recurrent urinary tract infection (11.2%) and urinary calculogenesis (11.1%), while the most common concurrent diseases were diabetes (7.2%) and depression (6.8%). The most frequently reported and most severe symptoms at the time of evaluation were irritative voiding symptoms, perineal and suprapubic pain and discomfort. Over three quarters of the patients were dissatisfied with their quality of life. Bacteria were cultured in 15.6%, 17.7% and 14.0% of expressed prostatic secretions, urine specimens after prostatic massage and semen specimens, respectively. Prostatitis is a common outpatient diagnosis, comprising over 10% of male outpatient visits to urologists in Italy. This comprehensive characterization of the typical prostatitis patient diagnosed in routine urological outpatient practice can be employed to generate hypothesis-driven studies in diagnosis and treatment.