BackgroundDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is an emerging cause of visual impairment and blindness and is often detected in the irreversible stage. General practitioners (GPs) play an essential role in the prevention of DR through diabetes control, early detection of retinal changes, and timely referral to ophthalmologists. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards DR screening among GPs in the district primary health centres (PHCs) in Jakarta, Indonesia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2021 and February 2022 in 17 randomly selected district PHCs. A validated online questionnaire was then distributed. Good knowledge was defined when the correct response rate was > 75%, positive attitude was indicated when desired attitudes were found in more than half of the items (> 50%), and good practice was defined when more than half of the practice items (> 50%) were performed.ResultsA total of 92 GPs, with a response rate of 60.1%, completed the questionnaire. Seventy-nine respondents (85.9%) were female with a median (range) age of 32 (24–58) years. Among the respondents, 82 (89.1%) had good knowledge and all showed positive attitude on DR screening. However, only four (4.3%) demonstrated good practices. We found a weak positive correlation (rs= 0.298, p = 0.004) between attitude and practices.ConclusionGPs in Jakarta showed good knowledge and positive attitude on DR screening. However, they did not show good practice. There was a positive correlation between attitude and practice.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12875-023-02068-8.