OBJECTIVES: To create an evidence map of the different patient-reported outcome instruments used in studies of patients with hepatitis C infection and the geographical settings in which these studies were conducted. METHODS:  We searched the heoro.com database (www.heoro.com) for PRO studies on hepatitis C (including chronic hepatitis C infection) published between 1960 and November 28 2016, and analysed the abstracts identified by the search to determine the different PRO instruments cited across the range of geographical locations. We presented the findings as an evidence map. RESULTS:  We found a total of 171 abstracts that reported the use of 55 different PRO instruments. Of these 55 instruments, six were specific for liver disease or hepatitis C infection, 38 were general instruments used to evaluate quality of life, utilities or non-disease-specific symptoms such as fatigue, and 11 were specific for other conditions or diseases that were common comorbidities of people with hepatitis C infection. By far the most popular instrument was the SF-36, cited in 80 abstracts, with other tools that can be used to derive utility values, such as the EQ-5D and Health Utilities Index, also being used in several studies. Of the disease-specific instruments, the most widely used was the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire, cited in 12 abstracts, followed by the Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Liver Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire. Comorbidities assessed were generally anxiety and depression and HIV co-infection. Sixty studies were conducted in the United States, with 13 abstracts each from Germany and Australia/New Zealand, 11 from Canada and 8 from the United Kingdom. CONCLUSIONS: Most studies assessing patient-reported outcomes in hepatitis C have used general rather than disease-specific tools, in particular the SF-36, and were most commonly in a US population.