This study analyses how individuals perceive the risk of earthquake, and explores the relationship of past earthquake experiences, gender and risk perception, in Taiwan. To assess risk perception, the authors took a two-factor structure approach, focusing on ‘personal impact’ and ‘controllability’. Whilst the ‘personal impact’ contained mostly negative connotations relating to feelings of worry or fear, the ‘controllability’ factor consisted of items related to effectiveness. Women reported high levels of fear and financial loss in comparison to their male counterpart. Findings support that risk perception has multiple components, and suggest that past experience (survivor status) and gender affect the perception of risk. Potential contributions of other demographic factors such as age, education, and marital status to personal impact, especially for women and survivors, are discussed.