OBJECTIVES: To identify existing gender differences in utilization of preventive care services in United States (US) population using a national database. Few studies have pointed towards role of gender in determining utilization of preventive care service but the issue hasn’t been explored using a nationally representative population. METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional study using 2008 MEPS (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey) data, a nationally representative survey of US population, which reports their pattern of medical care utilization. Guideline recommendations widely used in clinical practice, such as NCEP, American Dental Society, JNC-VII etc., were used to determine appropriate utilization of preventive care services. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the population characteristics while multivariate logistic regression model was built to predict the utilization of the various preventive care services (blood pressure check up, lipid screening, dental check up, sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy and flu vaccination), using gender as the primary predictor variable, while controlling for age, income, race/ethnicity etc.  RESULTS: Out of 33,066 respondents, 20,336 met the inclusion criteria for blood pressure check up, 23,058 met the inclusion criteria for dental check up, 19,543 met the inclusion criteria for flu vaccinations, 2,986 met the inclusion criteria for lipid screening, and 4,195 met the inclusion criteria for sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy screenings. Gender was found to predict utilization of preventive care services. Males were found less likely to utilize blood pressure check up (OR = 0.327, CI = 0.297 -0.359), lipid screening (OR = 0.768, CI =0.694- 0.85), dental check up (OR = 0.634,CI = 0.599-0.671), and flu vaccination (OR = 0.680, CI =0.637- 0.726). In case of sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy screenings, the disparities were not significant, though utilization was still found to be higher in females. CONCLUSIONS: The study helped determine gender disparities in utilizing preventive care services in US population. Utilization of preventive care services needs to be encouraged in males.