BACKGROUND: Extensive research exists estimating the effect hazardous alcohol use on morbidity and mortality, but little research quantifies the association between alcohol consumption and utility scores in patients with alcohol dependence. In the context of comparative research, the World Health Organisation (WHO) proposed to categorise the risk for alcohol-related acute and chronic harm according to patients’ average daily alcohol consumption. OBJECTIVES: To estimate utility scores associated with each category of the WHO drinking risk-level classification in patients with alcohol dependence (AD). METHODS: We used data from CONTROL, an observational cohort study including 143 AD patients from the Alcohol Treatment Center at Lausanne University Hospital, followed for 12 months. Average daily alcohol consumption was assessed monthly using the Timeline Follow-back method and patients were categorised according to the WHO drinking risk-level classification: abstinent, low, medium, high and very high. Other measures as sociodemographic characteristics and utility scores derived from the EuroQoL 5-Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) were collected every three months. Mixed models for repeated measures were used to estimate mean utility scores associated with WHO drinking risk-level categories. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients were included and the 12-month follow-up permitting the assessment of 1318 person-months. At baseline the mean age of the patients was 44.6 (SD 11.8) and the majority of patients was male (63.6%). Using repeated measures analysis, utility scores decreased with increasing drinking levels, ranging from 0.80 in abstinent patients to 0.62 in patients with very high risk drinking level (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of patients with alcohol dependence undergoing specialized care, utility scores estimated from the EQ-5D appeared to substantially and consistently vary according to patients’ WHO drinking level.