We investigated contraceptive practices in the rural health district of Kaya in Burkina Faso with the aim of a) comparing the sociodemographic and cultural characteristics of individuals who were well and poorly informed concerning contraceptive methods; b) analyzing the pattern of use of these contraceptive methods by the populations. We carried out a two-level cluster survey by the Hendersen method. For each household investigated, the chief, his wife (or one wife selected at random in polygamous families) and an adolescent (or one adolescent selected at random if there was more than one adolescent) were interviewed. Significantly more men than women were well informed concerning contraceptive methods. Similarly, a higher proportion of male adolescents than of female adolescents were well informed concerning contraceptive methods. The individuals who were well informed concerning contraceptive methods differed from those who were not well informed in terms of age, religion, level of education and radio listening habits. The prevalence of use of contraceptive methods in this study was found to be 4 to 36%, depending on the group studied. The majority of individuals expressed an intention to use contraceptive methods in the future: 59 to 78%, depending on the group studied. The contraceptive methods chosen for current and future use were, in order: the pill, condoms and contraceptive implants and the intrauterine device. Current patterns of contraceptive use favor, in decreasing order of preference, abstinence, the pill, condoms and contraceptive implants. There was also a strong tendency for individuals to experiment with diverse contraceptive methods. Thus, in the future, there is likely to be a trend towards the abandoning of abstinence in favor of the pill, condoms and contraceptive implants. Of these newer methods, condoms are likely to be the least popular and their relegation to a lower level of importance is likely to have disastrous consequences in terms of the prevention of HIV transmission by the sexual route. The results of this study indicate that information campaigns concerning contraceptive methods should be refocused on women and adolescent girls, condom promotion and maintaining the use of the methods chosen in the population.