The Nottingham Health Profile was developed in the late 70s in Great Britain and has since then been widely used in anglo-american countries as well as in other countries. We report about the translation process and the examination of psychometric properties of the German version of the Nottingham Health Profile in 10 samples of over 1000 healthy and ill persons. Results of psychometric assessment (feasibility, reliability, validity, sensitivity) were satisfactory. This suggests that the German translation of the Nottingham Health Profile is a reliable and valid instrument for patient-based reports of subjective health which can be used in clinical research as well as in epidemiologic studies.