AIM: To determine the number of deaths associated with nosocomial infection (NI) occurring in French hospitals, and to evaluate the role of hospital mortality reviews in assessing the preventability of NI-associated death. METHODS: The study considered 13,537 consecutive deaths occurring in 14 French hospitals in 2007 and 2008. An expert commission including attending physicians and nurses determined the likelihood that deaths could be attributed to NI, and the preventability of NI and death. FINDINGS: Medical records of the 2355 eligible patients with a McCabe score of 0 or 1 who died more than 48 h after admission were reviewed. Among them, 33% had at least one NI. Death was attributable to NI in 182 patients, and was considered preventable in 35 cases. Among these, 10 deaths were unexpected. CONCLUSION: Extrapolating these figures nationally, approximately 3500 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2605-4036] deaths attributable to NI occur in France annually. Among these, approximately 1300 NIs (95% CI 357-2196) and 800 deaths (95% CI 51-1481) can be considered preventable. Hospital mortality review commissions can help to improve the quality of health care by identifying circumstances associated with NI contributing to death, and targeting specific preventative measures. Such hospital commissions should involve all healthcare personnel.