The report, released on Sunday by the Victorian government, shows 63 per cent of deaths of people under the age of 75, between 1997 and 2003, could have been avoided.
The top 10 causes of avoidable deaths were ischaemic heart disease (IHD), lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, diabetes, road traffic accidents, poisoning and suicide.
Avoidable deaths refers to untimely and unnecessary deaths from diseases which can be effectively treated.
Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the research was helpful for assessing the performance of the health care system.
"Victoria had the third-lowest rates of avoidable deaths compared with all other states and territories in 2001 and was below the national average," he said.
Internationally, Australia had the third-lowest mortality rate compared with 19 other OECD countries, he said.
The USA ranked 19th and the United Kingdom 16th.
The report, Avoidable Mortality in Victoria: Trends Between 1997 and 2003, found rates of avoidable deaths declined in both males and females over the period.
Avoidable deaths dropped on average 4.6 per cent per year in males and four per cent in females.
Meanwhile, males who lived in rural local government areas had significantly higher avoidable mortality rates than their metropolitan counterparts.
Males and females who lived in the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas also had significantly higher avoidable mortality rates than their counterparts in better off areas.
In 2003, people living in Gippsland and the Loddon Mallee regions had higher avoidable mortality rates than Victoria as a whole, while those living in Melbourne's eastern suburbs had the lowest.
