OBJECTIVES: To determine the disease focus of all economic evaluation papers indexed in the PubMed database that were published in 2014. METHODS: An evidence surveillance process was established based on a systematic search of PubMed, using key words relevant to economic modelling in healthcare or disease and limited to studies published in English, in humans, and with abstracts. The surveillance incorporated all studies published from 2010 and was updated weekly. Abstracts identified by the search of economic evaluation studies were indexed according to disease area, using the chapter categorisation from ICD-10 as a framework. Articles were also included if they analysed the cost-effectiveness of healthcare service design or explored methodological issues related to economic modelling. To account for the delay in indexing of publications, we included all studies with a publication date of 2014 that were indexed in PubMed up to 8 June 2015. RESULTS: The search identified 2,772 articles published in 2014. Of these, 836 met the inclusion criteria and were subcategorised according to topic. The greatest number, 19%, were conducted in patients with infectious diseases, with 14% in cancer, 12% in cardiovascular disease, 8% in musculoskeletal disorders, 7% in mental health disorders, 6% in endocrine or metabolic disorders and 4% in digestive disorders. A further 7% of identified papers reported on modelling methods and 3% on service design.  All other disease areas accounted for 3% or fewer of the relevant publications per ICD-10 chapter. CONCLUSIONS: The focus of economic evaluations in 2014 was on infectious diseases, followed by cancer and cardiovascular disease. As these three disease areas accounted for almost 60% of global mortality in 2012, and cause considerable morbidity, it is encouraging to see that health economic research has prioritised finding the most cost-effective ways to reduce this burden.