Introduction. Bacterial resistance is a public health problem worldwide whose proper management requires knowledge of its presence and its behavior in each region and country.Objectives. A survey of the medical literature was conducted to identify levels of resistance to antibiotic markers in Gram positive bacterial isolates from Colombian hospitals.Materials and methods. A systematic review of the literature included articles indexed in MEDLINE and LILACS. A manual search was made of Colombian scientific journals and other infectious disease literature not available electronically.Results. A total of 34 observational studies were located, including a series of consecutive reports initiated in 2001. Most of the reports came from the city of Bogota. The rate of methicillin resistance for Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci in non intensive care unit isolates ranged between 35%-50% and 72%-76%, respectively. Resistance in intensive care unit isolates had a range between 35%-71% and 74%-83%, respectively. The rate of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium averaged less than 20% over the years but with large annual variation .Conclusions. Resistance markers appeared in high frequency among Gram positive isolates identified in hospitals in major Colombian cities.