A case-control study was conducted to investigate the relevance of criminal history, psychiatric morbidity, & social integration to suicide in Austrian prisons. Of 250 recorded suicides, 220 personal files were available & matched to 440 controls. The most important predictors for suicide in custody were a history of suicidality, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotropic medication, a highly violent index offence, & single-cell accommodation. This study demonstrates the need for staff to take suicidal behaviour as seriously in custodial settings as in any other circumstances. (18 refs.)