In the first study to be carried out nationally, 2548 students from five universities, including Otago, completed an online survey in April and May 2005, detailing their drinking habits and how drinking had affected their lifestyles.
Of the total, 37% said they had indulged in binge drinking at least once in the previous seven days.
Binge drinking was defined as six or more standard drinks on the same occasion for men, and four or more for women.
The survey, which will be published in an international alcohol research magazine in January, was released yesterday.
Lead author Dr Kypros Kypri, a senior researcher at Australia's University of Newcastle and a research associate with Otago's Injury Prevention Research Unit, said last night he was not surprised by the results, having already carried out a similar study of Otago students in 2003.
But he said he was "alarmed" at the figures, and others should be too.
"New Zealanders ought to be concerned and take steps to discourage the country's drinking culture. We create the environment for young people to drink - it's not random."
Dunedin had a reputation as a "party city" for university students, Dr Kypri said, although he was aware the university, licensing agencies and others were trying to change that.
"From what I've seen, drinking is pretty excessive in North Dunedin [and] a risk environment for young people. But it is good to see that might be changing."
The survey authors suggested first-year university students be screened to determine whether their drinking was greater than the norm.
That would involve them volunteering to participate in a confidential 10-minute survey at a Student Health centre about their alcohol intake and its effect on their lifestyle.
There was evidence to show students who realised their drinking was excessive compared to other people's modified their be-haviour, Dr Kypri said.
The concept was soon to be trialled and he said he hoped Otago would be one of the campuses involved.
The binge-drinking survey showed most students had begun drinking when they were about 14, and more than half had indulged in binge drinking once a month or more during their final year at secondary school.
Dr Kypri said he was not surprised by those statistics either.
Since 1999, when New Zealand lowered its alcohol purchase age to 18, "100,000 legal suppliers of alcohol" had been introduced into secondary schools.
