Introduccion : se ha estudiado la asociacion entre orientacion sexual y autoestima. Sin embargo, no se cuenta con estudios en poblacion de estudiantes universitarios de la ciudad de Santa Marta, Colombia. Objetivo : establecer la asociacion entre orientacion sexual y autoestima en estudiantes de una universidad. Metodologia : se diseno estudio transversal con participacion voluntaria de estudiantes universitarios mayores de 18 anos de edad. Los participantes completaron un cuestionario anonimo que pregunto la orientacion sexual e incluyo la escala de Rosenberg para autoestima. Mediante regresion logistica se estimo y ajusto la asociacion segun sexo. Resultados : participaron 1349 estudiantes de diferentes programas academicos, con una media para la edad de 20.6 anos (DE=3.4), 50.7% varones. El 3.4% informo orientacion sexual lesbiana, homosexual o bisexual (LGB) y 15.7% manifesto baja autoestima (29 o menos en la puntuacion de la escala; alfa de Cronbach=0.72). Los estudiantes LGB presentaron mayor frecuencia de baja autoestima, comparados con quienes se definieron como heterosexuales, ajustado por sexo (OR=5.94; IC95%:3.26- 10.81; p<0,001). Conclusiones : baja autoestima es significativamente mas frecuente en estudiantes universitarios LGB que en heterosexuales de una universidad de Santa Marta, Colombia. Es posible que el deterioro en la autoestima de personas no heterosexuales se relacione con el estigma, el prejuicio y la discriminacion. Rev.cienc.biomed.2013;4(2):270-274 PALABRAS CLAVES Orientacion sexual; Autoestima; Estudiantes universitarios; Adolescentes. SUMMARY Introduction: The sexual orientation keeps statistically significant association with the self-esteem. Nevertheless, there are not studies in population of university students from Santa Marta, Colombia. Objective: To establish the association between sexual orientation and self-esteem in students of a university. Methods: Cross sectional study with voluntary participation of university students older than 18 years of age was designed. The participants completed an anonymous questionnaire about sexual orientation which contained the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. By means of logistic regression, the association according to gender was estimated and adjusted. Results: 1.349 students of different academic programs participated. The average age was 20.6 years (SD=3.4) and 50,7% were men. 3.4% informed to be lesbian, homosexual or bisexual (LGB) and 15.7% manifested low self-esteem (less or equal to 29 in the score; Cronbach’s alpha). The LGB students presented major frequency of low self-esteem in comparison with heterosexual students, adjusted by gender (OR=5.94; CI95%: 3.26-10.81; p<0,001). Conclusions: Low self-esteem is significantly more frequent in LGB university students than in heterosexuals in a University from Santa Marta, Colombia. It is possible that this deterioration in the self-esteem of non-heterosexual people is related with the stigma, prejudice and the discrimination. Rev.cienc.biomed. 2013;4(2):270-274 KEYWORDS Sexual orientation; Self-esteem; College students; Adolescents.