Summary:
The aim of this paper was to evaluate the teaching of Preventive Medicine at the undergraduate level in the Federal University of Bahia Medical School, during the period 1989 to 1991. A questionnaire was applied to the students in the period and the plan of studies, theoretical and practical activities were analised. The changes introduced in the period aimed to put undergraduate medical students in greater contact with the main public health problems of the Brazilian population. The authors concluded that despite the observed advancements related to the theoretical course, the adaptation of the practical activities to the concrete situation of the health system remain a great challenge that need alternative solutions until more structural changes in the health system occur.