The 1990 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is the tenth in a series of cross-sectional studies, which began in 1971, designed to measure the prevalence and correlates of drug use in the United States household population aged 12 and over. The 1990 NHSDA was sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). Researchers from the Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, directed the 1990 study.

The basic sample design involved several selection stages; these were the selection of Primary Sampling Units (PSUs, e.g. counties), area segments (e.g., blocks or enumeration districts) within these PSUs, sample households within area segments, one or two (if any) age group domains within sample households, and a person within selected age group domains. Interviewers administered questionnaires in-person. All samples were done using probability methods.

Topics covered in the 1990 NHSDA include tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use; consequences of various drugs; health condition; and general demographic information.