OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to explore the association between the presence of risk factors and cardiovascular disease in Malaysian diabetic patients. Cerebrovascular disease was also explored. METHODS: We utilized the National Diabetes Registry (NDR) to perform a retrospective database analysis of diabetes patients followed-up in Ministry of Health primary care clinics in year 2012. Logistic regression was performed to explore the odds of cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease when there is presence of risk factors including age, sex, duration of diabetes, uncontrolled HbA1c as well as diagnosis of hypertension and dyslipidaemia. Data on smoking was not available. RESULTS: Out of 112,609 patients, 6,881 had ischaemic heart disease and 1,661 had cerebrovascular disease. Logistic regression analysis found that age ≥65 years (OR = 1.82, P <0.0001), male sex (OR = 1.60, P <0.0001), diabetes duration of 5-10 years, or more than 10 years (respectively, OR = 1.65, P<0.0001 and OR = 2.06, P<0.0001), hypertension (OR = 2.69, P<0.0001), dyslipidaemia (OR = 1.88, P<0.0001) and HbA1c not at target (OR = 1.09, P<0.014) were significant risk factors for ischaemic heart disease. Risk factors for cerebrovascular disease were similar except for uncontrolled HbA1c, and higher odds with hypertension (OR = 3.64, P <0.0001) and dyslipidaemia (OR = 2.45, P <0.0001). BMI was tested but no statistically significant association was found.  CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis showed that the factors associated with ischaemic heart disease in Malaysian diabetes patients were age, male sex, diabetes duration, uncontrolled HbA1c and the presence of hypertension and dyslipidaemia as comorbidities. These are generally consistent with past studies in the general population with the addition of uncontrolled HbA1c.as a risk factor. The same factors were associated with cerebrovascular disease except for uncontrolled HbA1c and a higher odds with hypertension and dyslipidaemia.