OBJECTIVE: To review and assess the literature of phamacoeconomic evaluations conducted in the Asia-Pacific region regarding type-2 diabetes focused on oral agents to clarify in order the current situation of pharmacoeconomic and outcomes research and then to identify the gaps between the information obtained and anticipated phamacoeconomic activities in Asia. METHODS: We searched the PubMed and Japanese databases to find the articles regarding economic evaluation for type-2 diabetes. The information obtained from the literature was critically appraised and summarized into key elements such as the type of economic evaluation, randomization, and so on. RESULTS: The literature identified was very limited: In Japan 23 articles (2 in English, 21 in Japanese), in Taiwan 3 (1 CEA (cost-effectiveness analysis), 2COIs (cost of illness)), in India 2 (1COI, 1 descriptive), in Bangladesh 1 CEA, in Hong Kong 1COI, and no article from Korea and Singapore. Only the Kumamoto Study in Japan reported a randomized control trial evaluating cost and effectiveness of insulin therapy. Most of the articles were review/COI articles with no evidence on cost-effectiveness to support the claims of health economics and outcomes research focused on oral agents. CONCLUSION: Evidence on effectiveness and cost of oral agents in prospective studies is lacking in the Asia-Pacific region. To overcome the gaps, we identified actions to do: 1) to perform a modeling study by employing the evidence on oral agents in the English literature, and 2) to conduct a prospective study to evaluate the oral agents, and then combine the resulting data with those of the Kumamoto Study. Also, we suggest that a cost-utility analysis remains for future investigation, particularly including the end-stages of diabetes such as dialysis or impaired vision.