OBJECTIVES: Information on the availability and accessibility of administrative databases in Asia for health research is not widely understood. This study describes a qualitative comparison of administrative databases in Asia for health research by availability and accessibility. METHODS: A search was conducted on Pubmed, Ovid, Google Scholar, the ISPOR International Digest of Databases and internet search engines to obtain information on the availability, type of information and accessibility of administrative databases for health research in Asia. The search was carried out to obtain information on different types of databases  such as hospital records, reimbursement databases, prescription databases, case-mix databases and data linkages where available. Countries selected for this qualitative comparison was China, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.  In addition, contact was initiated with the database owners wherever possible to obtain more information on the databases. Results were tabulated based on the databases available by country, ease of access (high, medium, low, none), challenges for each type of database and type of information available within each database. RESULTS: From the countries surveyed, Australia and Japan had the most number of databases available and accessible for health research.  Databases are available and accessible in Taiwan and South Korea with certain limitations and restrictions. In China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, there are limited numbers of databases available, however their accessibility for health research by private and public entities is not described.  Some databases contained cost information while others did not. CONCLUSIONS: Administrative databases for health research are available, accessible and regularly utilised in several countries in Asia while databases in other countries are not well established or readily available for research. The information from this study will help researchers plan their health research studies in Asia.