The objective of this research is to identify the corporate governance practices applied by family and non-family businesses in Colombia in comparison with codes of corporate governance´ recommendations. 22 corporate governance codes from 17 countries were studied, common practices of corporate governance were identified, then has been designed a survey, was applied to 202 employers and responses were analyzed using the Z test. Results reveal a high concentration of power in the first generation of family businesses because the founder does not delegate responsibilities and functions. Second and older generations tend to behave more like non-family businesses on issues related to corporate governance. Future research should identify which corporate governance practices influence in organizations and their performance.