Background: Medicine is a valuable profession with great responsibility. Doctors are one of the greatest servants of humanity. Physicians must acquire the traits and features which society expect from them and appropriate to this important and holy profession. There are a lot of texts and articles about traits and characters of a good doctor but studies about this subject in viewpoints of patients are limited. The purpose of this study is, investigating the characteristics of a good physician from the standpoint of patients.

Methods: This research is a survey study. Population includes all patients of hospitals in Tehran. Among all hospitals, 1200 Patients of outpatients’ clinics selected as an accessible sample. Patients were asked about traits and characters of a good physician by open questions. For analysis of the data descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage) and chi-square test was used.

Results: Patients were asked about traits of a good physician which 69.33% of them answered good morality and fine encountering. Another characters of good physicians in order of priority were: high scientific level and being literate 29.33%,being experienced and high skill 24.75%,patience and forbearing 15.6%,with fairness and conscientiousness and duty16.58%,enough explanation about disease 14.66%,pity and benevolent 14.83%,listening and attention to patients 13.91%,respecting and being polite 13.33%,being on time and disciplined 13.08%,accuracy on working 11.8%,leaving enough time for patients7.58%,less attention to money 7%,faitful and godly 5.75% and understand and sympathy with patients 5.25% .

Conclusion: This study shows that the most important character of a good physician in viewpoints of patients even before high scientific level and experience is good moral and nice dealing.