Introduccion: con el aumento de la expectativa de vida de las personas afectadas de VIH/SIDA, emergieron nuevos retos de salud. Las dislipidemias, en especial, se presentan como una complicacion tanto de la infeccion por el virus como del tratamiento antirretroviral (ARV). En Cartagena, Colombia, se desconoce la prevalencia de dislipidemia en personas seropositivas, las caracteristicas sociodemograficas, clinicas y factores asociados. Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia y clasificacion de las dislipidemias en pacientes VIH (+) y conocer que factores se asocian a la alteracion lipidica. Materiales y metodos: se realizo estudio observacional, de corte transversal. Los datos se obtuvieron a partir de entrevistas a los pacientes, el personal de salud responsable de su cuidado y la revision de las historias clinicas. Se calculo la prevalencia de dislipidemia en los individuos estudiados y analizaron los posibles factores asociados con alteraciones del perfil lipidico. Resultados: se analizaron los datos de 221 pacientes. La prevalencia de dislipidemia fue de 80.0%, siendo la hipertrigliceridemia aislada el tipo mas frecuente. Los pacientes con dislipidemia fueron con mas frecuencia varones y tuvieron ingresos economicos y peso corporal mayor. Se hallaron correlaciones positivas entre los valores de los lipidos y la edad, la hemoglobina y los recuentos CD4 y CD8. Ademas, el colesterol total, LDL y HDL presentaron una correlacion negativa con la carga viral. Las personas sin tratamiento ARV tuvieron niveles de colesterol total (p=0.0002213), LDL (p=0.003544) y HDL (p=0.0000432), significativamente mas bajos que las que se encontraban en tratamiento. Conclusiones: la dislipidemia es una complicacion muy frecuente en los pacientes con VIH/SIDA de Cartagena. Es prioritario que se disenen guias de manejo contextualizadas e intervenciones eficaces . Rev.cienc.biomed. 2012; 3(2): 267-274 PALABRAS CLAVES Dislipidemias; Infeccion por VIH; Antirretrovirales; Factores de riesgo. SUMMARY Introduction : with the argument of life expectancy of the people affected by HIV/ AIDS, new challenges of health emerged. The dyslipidemias, in special, are presented as a complication of the infection by the virus and the antiretroviral treatment (ARV). In Cartagena, Colombia the prevalence of dyslipidemia in HIV positive, the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and its associated factors are unknown . Objective: to determine the prevalence and classification of dyslipidemias in HIV (+) patients and to know what factors are associated with the lipid alteration. Methods: It was carried out an observational and cross sectional study. Data was obtained from the interviews to the patients, the health staff that is responsible of their care and from the review of clinical histories. The prevalence of dyslipidemia in the studied individuals was estimated and the possible factors associated with alteration of the lipid profile were analyzed. Results: there was analyzed the data from 221 patients. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 80.0%, being the isolated hypertriglyceridemia the most frequent type. With more frequency, the patients with dyslipidemia were men and they had higher admissions and higher weight. There were found positive correlations between the values of lipid and age, hemoglobin and CD4 and CD8 counts. Also, total cholesterol, LDH and HDL presented a negative correlation with the viral charge. People without ARV treatment had total cholesterol, LDL and HDL levels significantly lower than people in treatment. Conclusions: dyslipidemia is a very frequent complication in patients with HIV/AIDS from Cartagena. It is a priority to design contextualized guidelines of management and efficient interventions. Rev.cienc.biomed. 2012; 3(2): 267-274 KEYWORDS Dyslipidemias; HIV Infections; Anti-Retroviral Agents; Risk factors.