Fernando J Lavalle-González,1 Erwin Chiquete2 On behalf of the IDMPS-3W Collaborative Group (Mexico) 1Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Universitario Dr José Eleuterio González, Monterrey, NL, 2Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico Background: Physicians’ perception may not parallel objective measures of therapeutic targets in patients with diabetes. This is an issue rarely addressed in the medical literature. We aimed to analyze physicians’ perception and characteristics of adequate control of patients with diabetes.Patients and methods: We studied information on physicians and their patients who participated in the third wave of the International Diabetes Management Practices Study registry in Mexico. This analysis was performed on 2,642 patients, 203 with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and 2,439 with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), treated by 200 physicians.Results: The patients perceived at target had lower hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose than those considered not at target. However, overestimation of the frequency of patients with HbA1c