The Sixth International Conference on AIDS was held in San Francisco, California from June 20-24, 1990, at the Moscone Conference Center and Marriott Hotel. The University of California, San Francisco, was the primary sponsor, with the World Health Organization, the City and County of San Francisco, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and the International AIDS Society as co-sponsors. John L. Ziegler of UCSF was chair of the local organizing committee and Paul A. Volberding was co-chair. Robert M. Wachter served as Program Director and William O'Connor was the Conference Manager. John Greenspan served as chair of the Exhibits and Fundraising Committee. The language of the conference was English.

The theme of the conference was "AIDS in the Nineties: From Science to Policy." The registration information states that the conference's goal was "to emphasize the results of AIDS research in the basic, clinical, epidemiological, and social sciences from an international perspective. In the process, we will examine how research data and scientific observations impact treatment, prevention, public health policy, and other fields affected by the epidemic." Besides the main program each of the four co-sponsors hosted a seminar "to introduce the broad range of multidisciplinary research, and to assist in the building of intellectual bridges between diverse disciplines," on Wednesday, June 20th before the opening ceremony. The conference program was also divided into four thematic tracks. Track A: Basic Science, covered basic research topics in virology, immunology, and oncology. Track B: Clinical Science and Trials, included organ system manifestations, clinical variability among different patent groups, and treatment trials. Track C: Epidemiology and Prevention, dealt with distributions and determinants of HIV and AIDS in defined populations, and with interventions to prevent infection and progression. Track D: Social Science and Policy, was issue-oriented, and included social and policy topics related to AIDS.

San Francisco was chosen to host the 1990 conference during the Paris International Conference on AIDS in 1986; track chairs were chosen by the Conference chairs in early 1988. The conference faced a number of special challenges: a widely diverse audience from scientists to People Living with AIDS (PLWAs) and AIDS Activists; an international boycott of the conference due to the United States' refusal to grant visas to HIV positive individuals; the wide diversity of geographical origin of attendees; and threat of protestors disrupting the meetings.