Objective: Ischemic cerebral stroke should be treated as early as possible to improve therapeutic effects and decrease disability rate. This study was performed to investigate the time of presentation of acute stroke and the time of establishment of definite diagnosis. Method: Four hospitals of different types in the Beijing area participated. Eight hundred and thirty-three patients were observed prospectively. The time from symptom onset of acute stroke to hospital arrival and the time of CT scanning were recorded. Results: Five hundred and ninety-one (70.9%) were ischemic stroke patients and 242 (29.1%) were hemorrhagic stroke patients. In Beijing Hospital the time of presentation of acute stroke was shortest among the four hospitals. The rates of patients who arrived at hospital within 3 and 6 h after acute stroke were higher for Beijing Hospital than for the other three hospitals, accounting for 42.5 and 58.8%, respectively. The time of presentation after acute ischemic stroke was longer than that after hemorrhagic stroke in all four hospitals. CT scanning was conducted most timely in Beijing Hospital. The rates of CT scanning within 3 and 6 h also were higher in Beijing Hospital, accounting for 23.5 and 40.0%, respectively. Conclusion: In the Beijing area, even in a large hospital at the city center, only half of the patients with, ischemic stroke arrived at hospital within 6 h after stroke onset. The patients who were examined with CT scan within 6 h were less than half. It is suggested that for early treatment of ischemic stroke a great deal of work, such as public and professional education in the community, should be done.