In order to examine the attitudes of medical students toward oriental medicine before and after lecture course, self-administered questionnaires were given the medical students of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. Eighteen percent of the students had some experience with the prescription of Kampo medicine by doctors; 53% had used Kampo medicine purchased in pharmacies, and 13% had been treated with acupuncture and moxibustion. Eighty-four percent of the students were interested in oriental medicine; 82% thought that oriental medicine was worth learning; 76% thought that oriental medicine was essential in contemporary medicine and 54% wanted to introduce oriental medicine into their clinical practice in the future. These percentages increased after the lecture course to 92%, 85%, 87% and 62%, respectively.