Objective: to compare the evocation of the autobiographical memory (AM) of the last year and youth of a group of senior adults with normotypic aging in the city of Cali-Colombia. Method: the sample consisted of 14 institutionalized and 14 non-institutionalized senior adults, 10 women and 4 men in each group, who were paired in order to avoid differences in the socio-demographic variables. The type of study was nonexperimental with descriptive scope and transversal design. The instrument used was the Autobiographical Interview (AI), which has validity and reliability standards. Results: no significant differences were found in the AM of the two groups of senior adults evaluated; however, a better performance in the non-institutionalized senior adults was observed in variables such as the description of the place, the events, the objects, among others, both in the memory of youth and the last year. Conclusions: we managed to characterize the AM of a group of institutionalized and non-institutionalized senior adults of the city of Cali, highlighting that the institutionalization of senior adults diminishes to a certain extent the use of AM. In addition, it is reaffirmed that emotional aspects are paramount in the consolidation of memory, and they have an impact on the evocation of biographies.