Objectives: An epidemiological study of suicide can provide grounds for effective preventive measures. The  present study was carried out to examine the incidence of suicide in the Province of Kerman.

Method: In this cross-sectional research lasting a year, all cases of suicide in the province recorded at the Kerman Forensic Medical Center were studied using the census method and the relatives of the subjects were also interviewed in Kerman city using�questionnaires.

Findings: 63 cases of suicide were recorded within a period of one year in the Province of Kerman, of which 26 were committed  in the city of Kerman. The incidence of suicide within the one-year period in the whole Province was 3.1 in 100000, ranging from Zero in Rafsanjan and Shahre Babak to 7.3 in 100000 in Zarand. Men committed suicide 2.26 times more than women did. Considering the age distribution among the population of the Province, suicide was found to be more common (P<0.05) among young adults and adolescents than older people, and more frequent in the warmer seasons of the year. The most common method was self poisoning followed by hanging. Only in 32% of the cases the relatives of the victims believed that mental illness was the cause of suicide and only 4% had previously called on a psychiatrist. It seems that there is a low to moderate background rate in the province upon which we are facing an eqidemic in Kerman city and southern areas of the province. This paper presents a model for explaining regional differences in the incidence of suicide. Some suggestions are also presented both for reducing the incidence of suicide and  for further research in the field.