BACKGROUND: The prevalence of joint arthroplasties is increasing internationally, putting increased emphasis on patient education. PURPOSE: This study describes information and controlpreferences of patients with joint arthroplasty in seven European countries, and explores their relationships with patients' received knowledge. METHODS: The data (n = 1,446) were collected during 2009-2012 with the Krantz Health Opinion Survey and the Received Knowledge of Hospital Patient scale. RESULTS: European patients with joint arthroplasty had low preferences. Older patients had less information preferences than younger patients (p = .0001). In control preferences there were significant relationships with age (p = .021), employment in healthcare/social services (p = .033), chronic illness (p = .002), and country (p = .0001). Received knowledge of the patients did not have any relationships with information preferences. Instead, higher control preferences were associated with less received knowledge. CONCLUSION: The relationship between European joint arthroplasty patients' preferences and the knowledge they have received requires further research.