Background: We aimed to study characteristics and suicidal behaviour of patients admitted with paracetamol self-poisoning at Ramathibodi hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed charts from patients hospitalized for paracetamol overdose over a 9 year period from 2001-2009.Data regarding demographic characteristics, suicidal behaviour, psychiatric diagnosis and risk factors were assessed.Results: There were 480 cases admitted for drug overdose during the study period.Paracetamol was the most common drug ingested (42.1%).The majority of paracetamol overdose patients was female (77.7%) and the mean age was 25.0 years (SD=9.2).97.5% of the acts were perform without planning ahead.The most common trigger was conflict with spouse or partner (45%).Adjustment disorder accounted for 75.2% of Axis I diagnosis whereas major depressive disorder represented for only 6.9%.Nearly one third of them had a history of previous attempts.Half of the patients ingested paracetamol at the dosage ranged from 7.5g to 15g and 25% at the dosage range above 22g.Forty-one patients (20.3%) had severe liver damage (peak aminotransferase levels>1,000 lU/l).The median duration between time of ingestion and hospital presentation was 4.3 hours (mean=13.9 hours, SD=30.9 hours).The mean hospital stay was 2.8 days (SD=2.9).Conclusion: Paracetamol is the most common drug ingested in intentional drug overdose.Most of these overdoses resulted from impulsive acts.Preventive measures such as limited availability, increasing the time needed to intake a toxic amount of drugs and decreasing the duration before receiving treatment are recommended.