OBJECTIVES: To assess healthcare resource use associated with the treatment of metastatic and/or locally recurrent, unresectable gastric cancer (MGC), including cancer of the stomach and gastro-oesophageal junction, in Taiwan and South Korea. METHODS: Physicians, randomly selected from a panel of oncologists and study referrals, supplied de-identified information via an online chart abstraction instrument, for ≤10 randomly selected patients with MGC. Patients were required to have received platinum/fluoropyrimidine first-line therapy, followed by second-line therapy or best supportive care (BSC) only. Data were analysed using summary statistics. RESULTS: Data were collected (2/2013–7/2013) for 122 patients from 37 physicians in Taiwan, and for 198 patients from 30 physicians in South Korea. Key demographics in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively, included: men (62.3%; 73.7%); mean age (59.8 years; 61.3 years). Following first-line treatment, patients in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively, received: second line (64.8%; 80.3%); BSC alone (35.2%; 19.7%); third line (13.1%; 23.2%). Inpatient hospitalisation rates (≥1 stay) in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively, were: overall, i.e. including periods of no line of treatment (82.8%, [101/122]; 48.5%, [96/198]); first line (63.1%, [77/122]; 35.9%, [71/198]); second line (53.2%, [42/79]; 30.2%, [48/159]); BSC alone (39.5%, [17/43]; 33.3%, [13/39]); third line (68.8%, [11/16]; 23.9%, [11/46]). In both countries, inpatient hospitalisations were of similar mean length (Taiwan, 8.6 days [SD 10.0]; South Korea, 8.7 days [SD 9.8]). Most common reasons for inpatient hospitalisation were chemotherapy infusions (Taiwan, 59.8%; South Korea, 67.9%) and disease symptom management (Taiwan, 30.4%; South Korea, 20.3%). Overall, antiemetics and analgesics were the most common supportive-care agents; endoscopy was the most common procedure. CONCLUSIONS: In both countries, >60% of patients with MGC received second-line treatment; post-first-line treatments were more common in South Korea than Taiwan. The healthcare resource burden of MGC is considerable in both countries, as hospitalisation is common, particularly in Taiwan.