Some characteristics of community physicians may make them more generally interested in attending an institution's CME courses. If so, promotion plans for specific CME courses and for general promotional materials (e.g., course calendars) can focus more intensively on physicians with these characteristics. This study examined whether several readily available characteristics of community physicians were associated with attendance at a medical center's CME activities. As a comparison, the association between the characteristics of physicians and their referrals to the medical center was also examined. The study focused on community physicians in Michigan who were in medical specialties that were likely to refer patients and that were the target audience of at least one CME course offered by the institution durinl: a two-year period. Both personal characteristics (e.g., age, gender, alumni status) and practice characteristics (e.g., clinical specialty, size of nearest hospital, geographic location) were examined. The characteristics accounted for only two percent of the variation in CME attendance, hut 15 percent of the variation in referrals. Some characteristics had small, hut statistically significant associations with CME attendance. However, the associations did not reach levels that were meaningful on a practical level. Based on the results, no differentiated general promotion pluns will be based on these characteristics of community physicians.