OBJECTIVES: To assess diabetes related knowledge among urban poor population of Tunku village, Jelutong, Penang, Malaysia. METHODS: A questionnaire based, cross-sectional observational study was carried out. All residence of the area (age 18 and above) were targeted. The study was conducted from September to November 2012. Descriptive statistics were applied to summarize the data. All analyses were performed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 17. RESULTS: A total of 104 residents agreed to participate in the study. The cohort was dominated by females (n=70, 67.3%) and ethnic group of Malay (n=71, 68.3%) with mean age of 56.9±13.4 years. More than half (n=61, 58.7%) of the respondents were considered as low income earners as the monthly household income was less than Ringgit Malaysia 1000. Ninety one (87.5%) knew the definition of diabetes whereas (n=77, 74%) had knowledge about the normal glucose level in the body). Eight six (82.7%) had the knowledge about the complications associated with diabetes. Majority of them believed that regular exercise can control diabetes, whereas only 25 (24%) believed that diet modification can help in managing the diabetes. Twenty one (20.2%) stated that diabetes is a disease of old age. The mean diabetes knowledge score was 6.92±2.027 out of 10.  CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that the respondent had adequate diabetes related knowledge. However, certain diabetes related attributes were lacking in the population. It is advisable that efforts should be made to educate the residents of the urban poor areas for adequate management of diabetes.