Objective: Describe current treatment patterns in patients (pts) with chronic osteoarthritis (OA) pain, with emphasis on their opioid therapy. Methods: Using a large 2006 commercial claims database, continuously enrolled adult OA pts (ICD-9 CM code=715.XX, =18 years old) with chronic non-malignant pain were identified. Those with at least 120 days supply (ds) of pain medication in 2006 were classified as having "chronic pain." Pts were grouped based on their use of controlled long acting opioids (LAO), controlled short acting opioids (SAO), and all other non-controlled analgesics. Pt demographics, comorbidities, and drug utilization were examined. Results: Of the over 8 million pts in the claims database, 33,221 pts (mean age 54.4; 64.5% female) had "chronic OA pain." The most common comorbidities were hypertension (55.9%), hypercholesterolemia (51.2%), diabetes (19.7%), and GERD (17.5%). The most common pain-related medications used were NSAIDs (71.4%), controlled (CII-CIII) opioids (71.0%), antidepressants (42.5%), anti-ulcer drugs (39.7%), and musculoskeletal therapy agents (30.0%). Nearly half of pts (48.1%) had claims for =30 ds of a controlled opioid for pain, 40.3% with =60 ds, and 35.8% with =90 ds of controlled opioids for pain in 2006. Eleven percent (11%) were prescribed an LAO (CII-CIII), with 7.7% (2,559/33,221) used a SAO as monotherapy for pain with least a 120 ds in 2006. Stated differently, 12.8% (2,559/19,946) of SAO users and 34.3% (1,253/3,653) of LAO users did not have a claim for a non-controlled analgesic utilizing only opioids for prescription pain control. Conclusion: Almost half (48.1%) of chronic OA pain pts were treated with at least 30 days of controlled opioids annually with almost one in ten using SAOs as monotherapy for long term management of their OA pain. Further analyses are needed to better understand the appropriate and inappropriate use of opioids in OA patients.