OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to identify the prevalence of malnutrition and outcomes in hospitalized patients by nutritional risk screening tool 2002 (NRS-2002) test. METHODS: The study prospective, observational and performed department of internal medicine and medical intensive care unit in training hospital. Of 640 patients enrolled for the study from a mixed age population, 342 were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and 298 to the internal medicine department (IMD). Body mass index (BMI), estimated calorie intake, weight changes (%), age, morbidities and severity, APACHE II for determination NRS-2002 were recorded. Patients with NRS-2002 score > 3 were included in the nutritional support program. RESULTS: Malnutrition prevalence were 7% and 40% in the IMD and ICU patients on admission, respectively. Average age in malnutrition versus well-nourished groups in the ICU and IMD patients were significantly high at 76.2 ± 15.4 versus 61.0 ± 23.2 and 73.4 ± 12.6 versus 41.7 ± 24.2, respectively (p= 0.04, p= 0.03). Mortality was also significantly higher in malnutrition group (51%) than in well-nourished group (11%) in ICU (p= 0.02). In ICU, although the spectrum of disease was homogenous in between patients with and without malnutrition, the percentage of death was higher among patients with malnutrition (p= 0.03). In the ICU group, iatrogenic malnutrition was observed 5 % at the end of the 1st week and 3% at the end of the 2nd week. CONCLUSION: We think that nutritional screening may provide an approach in identifying the patients with malnutrition, giving the possibility of preventing iatrogenic malnutrition. Routine nutritional screening in hospitals may be useful for the course of the illness, and contribute to the cost of health expenditure.