Objective: to establish whether the Canadian selfreport altruism scale Questionnaire is a reliable estimate for altruistic behavior in young Colombian university students.Methodology: the self-report altruism scale test was adapted and applied. 327 university students between 18 and 25 years from five independent cohorts participated in this study. Participants should note, in 20 items, the frequency (never, once, more than once, often or very often) with which they performed altruistic behavior. The method of this study followed the protocol of the World Health Organization for these cases. There was also a correlation analysis between the score of the questionnaire and the evaluation that some close friends of each participant made in relation to the altruistic tendency of the latter.Results: cronbach's alpha, bipartition analysis and comparison of these data with those reported in other countries show that the instrument is highly reliable. The selfreport altruism scale questionnaire is a useful tool to estimate the altruistic behavior of Colombian university students.Conclusions: the relevance of developing tools to assess prosocial behavior in the country is discussed and clarified. Expanding the age range and applying the questionnaire to non-university populations, will strengthen the development of the instrument.