Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the different methods to calculate the 131 I doses and the final doses used on the treatment of the hyperthyroidism. Methods: Forty six clinical records from patients with hyperthyroidism who received 131 I therapy in the Nuclear Medicine Unit, were reviewed; 29 had toxic diffuse goiter (TDG) and 17 had toxic nodular goiter (TNG). The information about the follow up at 3, 6 and 12 months after therapy was obtained. Getting hypothyroidism in 3 months after therapy was taken as cure criterion and effectiveness of the treatment. Results: Among the patients with TDG, the 27% showed hypothyroidism in 3 months and the 45% in 12 months. A high percentage of patients treated with the Quimby-Marinelli method to calculate the 131 I, showed hypothyroidism in 3 months (p<0,01); this method was associated with high doses of 131 I (p<0,01). The patients who remained with hyperthyroidism received low doses. The lineal regression analysis showed that the doses administered, instead of the method of calculation, had the major relation with the effectiveness of the treatment (p<0,005). There were not differences between the different methods of calculation and doses of 131 I in the