The prevalence of psychotic disorders among prisoners from racial or ethnic minority groups remains uncertain. We therefore compared the frequency of psychotic disorder in ethnic minority and Dutch native defendants using the nationwide database of elaborate pre-trial reports. Analysis of a nationwide database of pre-trial reported defendants in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2006 (n = 12,752). A diagnosis of a psychotic disorder was more common in ethnic minority than in Dutch native defendants (21.1 vs. 10.2 %). The odds ratio of this diagnosis, adjusted for age, gender, IQ below 85 and abuse of cannabis or hard drugs, was 2.6 (95 % CI 2.2-3.0). This odds ratio was highest for African defendants (OR = 5.2; 95 % CI 3.7-7.4). Psychotic disorders were more common among pre-trial reported defendants from ethnic minorities than among their Dutch native counterparts.