Introduction Chemsex is defined by the use of psychoactive substances to facilitate or improve sexual relations. Our objectives were to assess the prevalence of the practice of ‘chemsex’ in a population of French university students and to identify socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with this practice. Material and methods We have used an anonymous online questionnaire comprising 15 questions on socio-demographic characteristics, chemsex use, sexual satisfaction, the type of substances used in this sexual context and their route of administration. Results A total of 680 people were included in our study. Among them, 22.5% reported chemsex behaviour in the past year. Using a multivariate analysis, factors associated with chemsex were dating application use ( p = 0.049) and pornography use [viewing more than once per month ( p = 0.002)]. Having a sexual partner involved in chemsex ( p < 0.0001), celibacy ( p = 0.007), sexual orientations other than heterosexual ( p = 0.0013) and especially bisexuality ( p = 0.0002) were also significantly associated with chemsex. Conclusion This is the first study reporting a high prevalence of chemsex in a university student population. Further larger studies should be conducted to confirm these results showing a high prevalence of this at-risk behaviour.

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