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A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Kinshasa University Hospital (KUH) to determine the prevalence of self-medication among patients admitted to KUH and to identify commonly used drugs. 391 patients aged 14 to 92 years admitted to the KUH emergency department between 15 January and 15 February 2011 were included in the study. 233 patients out of a total of 391 (59.6%) used self-medication between the onset of symptoms and the visit to KUH. The number of drugs used ranged from 1 to 7. Of the 233 patients who practiced self-medication, 224 (96.1%) used pharmaceutical drugs alone, 4 (1.7%) used traditional African remedies alone, 1 (0.4%) used Chinese medicine alone, and 4 (1.7%) combined pharmaceutical drugs with traditional African remedies. Analgesics and antipyretics (44.3%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (26.3%), antimalarials (20.6%) and antibacterials (12.3%) were the most commonly used pharmaceutical drugs. Paracetamol was the most commonly used analgesic and antipyretic (89.1%). Among NSAIDs, diclofenac (65%) was the most widely used. Artemisinin-based combination drugs (40.4%) were the most commonly used antimalarials, with lumefantrine being the most common. The most widely reported antibacterials were beta-lactam antibiotics (ampicillin and amoxicillin) (42.9%). The results show that self-medication, based mainly on commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs, appears to be a common therapeutic option before seeking hospital care and may be a major threat to individual and community health.