The status and problems of the roma (gipsy) population have been in the forefront in Hungary and have called for numerous benevolent interventions. Successful planning and implementation of programs aimed at the improvement of their health status must be based on solid facts regarding their problems and the causes behind. The authors give a literature review on research papers discussing the health (disease) status of the Hungarian roma population published between 1980 and 2001. They give a summary on the demography of gypsies, an overview of publications on pregnancy, delivery and infant mortality, on adult morbidity and mortality, on genetic investigations among roma people, as well as on their health behaviour and relations with the health care system, and finally, they give a brief overview of their socio-economic status. The authors sum up the major difficulties of research aimed at roma people, express their concern regarding health research papers published on gypsies; and outline their recommendation on the future direction of research on the health of the roma population.