ABSTRACT: On the 31th August 1848 the Public Health Act was passed in Great Britain under the government of Queen Victoria. This act was an important part of the vigorous movement for the reform of the State in this country during the first half of 19th century. Many historians consider it as the first law that systematically incorporated the concepts that came to constitute the basis of modern public health in the world. This article describes the most important facts related t o the process of discussion of this act and presents the main concepts about society and public health maintained for the most relevant leaders of the Movement for Public Health in Great Britain as in other European countries in those years. It is concluded that there is a tight link between the present discussions about public health should do and the debates that British society carried out related with the approval of the act in 1848. A copy of the original text of the act was revised in order to write this article as well as several works of different historian about the British society of the 19th century.