Introduccion: percepcion intraoperatoria, despertar intraoperatorio o awareness, ocurre cuando se produce adquisicion o formacion de memoria explicita durante anestesia general. El plano de profundidad anestesica inadecuado permite el desarrollo de recuerdos intraoperatorios, pudiendo el paciente ser consciente de hechos ocurridos durante un procedimiento quirurgico y poder narrar esos hechos. Objetivo: realizar revision tematica para identificar el conocimiento disponible sobre este tipo de evento. Metodologia: se realizo una busqueda de la literatura en bases de datos electronicas Pub Med, Science Direct, OvidSP y Scielo, de estudios clinicos, epidemiologicos, revisiones sistematicas, consensos y metaanalisis, utilizando las siguientes palabras claves: percepcion intraoperatoria, complicaciones anestesicas y despertar durante la anestesia. La busqueda arrojo 204 articulos. Se revisaron los resumenes y se escogieron por conveniencia 50 estudios, los cuales trataban los temas centrales de la revision y cumplian los criterios de inclusion. Conclusion : la prevalencia senalada de percepcion intraoperatoria es de 0.2 a 2%. Se deben tener presentes los factores de riesgo, realizarse el diagnostico y manejo oportuno, asi como las acciones de prevencion. Rev.cienc.biomed. 2012;3(2):306-311 PALABRAS CLAVES Percepcion intraoperatoria; Complicaciones anestesicas; Despertar durante la anestesia. SUMMARY Introduction: intraoperative perception or intraoperative awareness occurs when acquisition or explicit memory formation is produced during general anesthesia. The inadequate anesthetic depth level allows the development of intraoperative memory, therefor the patient can be conscious of facts that took place during a surgical procedure and to be able to narrate this facts. Objective: to do a thematic review to identify the available knowledge about this kind of event. Methods: it was done a search of the literature in electronic databases Pub Med, Science Direct, OvidSP and Scielo, about epidemiological and clinical studies, systematic reviews, consensus and meta-analysis using the next keywords: Intraoperative perception, anesthetic complications and awakening during the anesthesia. The search left 204 articles. The summaries were reviewed and 50 studies were chosen by conveniences, which were about the central subject of the review and which achieved the inclusion criteria. Conclusion: the important prevalence of intraoperative perception is of 0.2 to 2%. The risk factors have to be present, the diagnosis and an opportune management have to be present, just as the actions of prevention . Rev.cienc.biomed. 2012;3(2):306-311 KEYWORDS Intraoperative perception; Anesthetic complications; Awakeners during surgery.