Introduction: hemodialysis is a treatment that helps in the survival of patients with renal failure, through an established cardiopulmonary bypass to carry out blood filtration, as a result, there is a need for a feasible, lasting and effective vascular access. There are two types of vascular access, arteriovenous fistulas, using autogenous veins or prostheses, and venous catheters. The indications for choosing the type of vascular access are related to the characteristics and restriction of use of each patient. Objective: to analyze the epidemiological, demographic and clinical profile of patients undergoing hemodialysis in two reference services in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, and compare the clinical-surgical processes with those defined by the Kidney Guidelines disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI). Methods: data were collected in two public hospitals, with patients undergoing hemodialysis, through registration forms and medical records, from August to December 2016. The volunteers were informed about the procedures and objectives of the study and, after agreeing, they signed a consent form. The variables age, gender, weight, height, body mass index, hemodialysis time, types of accesses already used , complications related to the accesses and underlying disease were analyzed. Patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis of both genders, with no age restriction, were included. Patients not able to perform one of the techniques, arteriovenous fistula or catheter, were excluded . The collected data were compared with the Kidney guidelines disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI). Results: a total of 252 individuals were included, of which 182 are patients undergoing reference hospital treatment in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, SP and 70 patients at the State University Hospital Mário Covas, a State reference in the clinical management of patients undergoing hemodialysis care. Conclusion: chronic kidney disease is highly prevalent with progression to end-stage chronic kidney failure (dialysis). The definition of the epidemiological profile of the population undergoing treatment, as well as the journey of venous accesses for hemodialysis (catheters and fistulas), are fundamental for the multidisciplinary team’s learning curve about complications throughout the course of the disease/treatment. Furthermore, the clinical-surgical management of this population is in line with the guidelines of the National Kidney Foundation. The treatment performed in these hemodialysis centers is efficient and in line with what the KDOQI recommends.