Introduction: In 1990, emotional intelligence (EI) was proposed as a mental ability given by the social and emotional components of personality, made up in turn by the ability to perceive, facilitate, understand, and manage emotions. The Trait Meta-Mood Scale 24 (TMMS-24) is the Spanish version of EI self-report. Objective: To determine differences in the degree of development of EI associated with gender, age, and education among adolescents from two schools in Bogotá. Method: Observational cross-sectional comparison between two groups of adolescents enrolled in formal education in a girls' and a boys' schools, grades 6 through 11. We used the TMMS-24 and a demographic data questionnaire, both were self-reports. Results: A total of 451 adolescents, 224 females (age 14.04 ± 1.58 years) and 227 males (age 14.25 ± 1.68 years) were included. TMMS-24's Cronbach's alpha obtained in this study was 0.802 for attention, 0.756 for clarity, and 0.748 for repair. Conclusions: The TMMS-24 has good internal consistency to assess the EI of adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age attending school in Bogotá. EI was related to gender, confirming findings in the scientific literature. There is need for more research on EI in our environment.