In France, very few epidemiological studies have been conducted on cirrhosis. To investigate the use of hospital care for cirrhosis, we included all patients with cirrhosis caused by common factors (viral, alcoholic, or metabolic; n=944) who were admitted for conventional hospitalization, day hospital, and outpatient clinics in 42 hepatogastroenterology departments at non-university hospitals, from June 4 to 8, 2012. Patients with cirrhosis accounted for 15% of all patients admitted to conventional inpatient care in the participating departments. Cirrhosis was caused (with or without a cofactor) by: alcohol (n=702, 74% of patients), hepatitis C virus (n=195, 21%), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (n=145, 15%), and hepatitis B virus (n=61, 6%). Other causes of cirrhosis accounted for only 2% of cases. Alcoholic etiology was responsible for 93% of cirrhosis cases with complications other than hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 73% of cirrhosis cases with HCC, and 88% of cirrhosis cases requiring conventional hospitalization. Despite a steady decline in alcohol consumption, the need for hospital care for cirrhosis, particularly alcohol-related cirrhosis, remains significant within the hepatogastroenterology departments of French general hospitals.