BACKGROUND: Taiwan implemented a reformed 6-year medical education in 2013, with a subsequent 2-year postgraduate training programme starting in August 2019. This study investigated the perceptions of acute and chronic pain management in postgraduate physicians. METHODS: In late July 2023, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted of Taiwanese physicians who had almost completed their postgraduate 2-year or 1-year training and those who were starting a postgraduate programme in early August 2023. This survey evaluated their knowledge, attitude and clinical experience related to opioid-based pain management and their perceptions of the opioid crisis in the United States and Taiwan. RESULTS: Of the 197 postgraduate physicians, 169 (85.8%) responded to the survey. Physicians who had received postgraduate 2-year ( CONCLUSIONS: The postgraduate training programme in Taiwan provides enhanced knowledge of opioids and improves physicians' levels of confidence in acute and chronic pain management. However, only one-sixth of postgraduate physicians are aware that Taiwan does not have an opioid problem.