Resumen Almidones cationicos fueron obtenidos a partir de almidon nativo extraido de tres variedades de yuca, a diferentes condiciones de temperatura (28-50°C) y tiempos de reaccion (7-24h) utilizando cloruro de 2,3-epoxipropiltrimetilamonio como reactivo cationizante y NaOH como catalizador en un proceso seco en medio etanolico. Se estudio el efecto de estos tres factores en el grado de sustitucion (DS), eficiencia de la reaccion (RE) y propiedades funcionales del almidon. El DS de los almidones cationicos y las propiedades funcionales no se vieron afectados significativamente por las condiciones de reaccion a excepcion de la temperatura de gelatinizacion, la cual es afectada por la temperatura de reaccion. Se obtuvieron almidones con bajos grados de sustitucion, entre 0,009 y 0,023, y las propiedades funcionales estudiadas en almidones cationicos aumentaron con respecto a los almidones nativos. Palabras clave : Almidon, cationizacion, Grado de sustitucion, propiedades funcionales, cloruro de epoxipropiltrimetilamonio. Functional characterization of cationic starch of cassava (Manihot esculenta) Abstract Cationic starches were obtained from native starch extracted from cassava of three different varieties at different temperatures (28-50°C) and reaction times (7-24h) using 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium (EPTAC) as cationizing reactive and NaOH as catalyst in a dry process at ethanolyc medium. The effect of these three factors in the degree of substitution (DS), the reaction efficiency (RE) and functional properties of starch were studied. Degree of substitution (DS) of the cationic starches and functional properties are not significantly affected by the reaction conditions except for the gelatinization temperature, which is affected by the reaction temperature. Starches were obtained with low degrees of substitution between 0.009 and 0.023. Further, the functional properties studied in cationic starches are better than native starches. Keywords: Starch, cationization, degree of substitution, functional properties, epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride.