Introduccion : el parto pretermino es un problema de salud publica por su elevada incidencia. Puede ser extremo, muy pretermino o tardio, dependiendo de la edad gestacional. El parto pretermino tardio es el subgrupo mas prevalente. Objetivo : identificar las complicaciones tempranas y la morbilidad a largo plazo que mas frecuentemente se han relacionado con preterminos nacidos entre las 34 y 36 semanas/6 dias de gestacion. Metodologia: revision tematica. Se realizo busqueda electronica en las bases de datos PubMed, Science direct, EBSCOhost y Scielo. Se consideraron articulos publicados desde enero de 1997 a diciembre del 2012, en espanol e ingles. Tambien fueron revisados textos de obstetricia. Resultados: 50 de 300 articulos identificados, cumplieron con el objetivo de la revision. Las complicaciones mas comunes que se presentan tempranamente son: reingreso hospitalario, problemas respiratorios, defectos en la succion, hiperbilirrubinemia e hipoglicemia. Las complicaciones tardias mas frecuentes son: paralisis cerebral, retardo mental, desordenes sicologicos y psiquiatricos, principalmente esquizofrenia y trastornos depresivos. Los preterminos tardios presentan el 10% de la mortalidad neonatal. Conclusiones: los preterminos tardios presentan mayor morbilidad que los nacidos a termino. No es recomendable finalizar la gestacion entre las 34 y 36 semanas sin la adecuada indicacion. Rev.Cienc.Biomed. 2012;4(1): 134-141 PALABRAS CLAVES Parto prematuro; Nacimiento prematuro; Morbilidad; Mortalidad. SUMMARY Introduction: preterm birth is a public health problem due to its high incidence. It can be extremely preterm, very preterm and late preterm, according to the gestational age. The late preterm birth is the most prevalent subgroup. Objective: identify the early complications and the long-term morbidity that more frequently have been related with preterm born between 34 and 36 weeks/6 days of pregnancy. Methods: thematic review. An electronic search was carried out in databases Pubmed, Science direct, EBSCOhost and Scielo. There were considered articles published since January, 1997 to December, 2012 in Spanish and English. Obstetric texts also were reviewed. Results: 50 of 300 identified articles achieved the aim of the review. The most common complications that had an early presentation were: hospital re-entry, respiratory pro- blems, suction defects, hyperbilirubinemia and hypoglycemia. The most frequent late complications were: cerebral palsy, mental retardation, psychological and psychiatric disorders, mainly schizophrenia and depressive disorders. The late preterm births present 10% of the neonatal mortality. Conclusions: late preterm births present higher morbidity than those full-term births. It is not recommended to finish the pregnancy between 34 and 36 weeks without the adequate indication. Rev.Cienc.Biomed. 2012;4(1): 134-141 KEYWORDS Obstetric labor; Premature birth; Morbidity; Mortality.