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OBJECTIVE The purpose of this research is to analyze the prescribing pattern and amount of narcotic analgesics by the presence of cancer or non-cancer patients in Korea. METHODS We identified opioid analgesic prescriptions used by pain patients using National patient sample of Health Insurance Review and Assessment claims data from 2010 to 2013. Prescribed amount of opioid analgesics were calculated using defined daily dose. The dataset included 104,220 pain patients who were prescribed opioid analgesics and 220,296 claims containing narcotic analgesics for 4 years. RESULT Opioid use for non-cancer pain management gradually increased from 24% in 2010 to 40% in 2013. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of opioid analgesics was higher in pain patients without cancer (11%) compared to those with cancer (5%). Overall, use of patch formulation dramatically increased from 2% in 2010 to 76% in 2013, while oral formulation decreased from 76% to 20% for non-cancer pain management. The most frequent pharmaceutical ingredient prescribed for cancer patients was oxycodone (37%), followed by morphine (32%) in 2010. For non-cancer pain management, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine and other opioids (such as codeine) use was 30%, 21% and 37% respectively in 2010. On the other hand, in 2013, the proportion of fentanyl prescription was 76%, showing the most frequent use for both cancer and non-cancer pain management. Approximately 80% of opioid analgesics were prescribed from tertiary hospitals and general hospitals for non-cancer pain management. CONCLUSION Since non-cancer pain market is growing over the year and has a huge market potential, it is necessary to build up different strategies from the cancer pain market. The market analysis using HIRA claim data can help understand market trend and to develop marketing strategies.