Introduction: hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and fetal growth restriction are conditions which have a great impact, sharing their pathogenesis in abnormal placentation. The histological study of the placenta allows understanding part of these phenomena, besides having academic, medical, and legal implications. Objective: to characterize placental anatomopathological findings in women diagnosed with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and/or fetal growth restriction in a high complexity hospital in Popayán, Colombia. Methods: a cross-sectional observational study, including a population of women who during their pregnancy were diagnosed with fetal growth restriction and / or hypertensive disorders, between 2019 and 2020, in whom a placental anatomopathological examination was performed. Results: of the 155 cases analyzed, 99.35% evidenced maternal vascular malperfusion, 70.97% fetal vascular malperfusion, 4.52% delayed villous maturation, and.35% inflammation. Conclusions: this study revealed high prevalence of abnormal histopathological findings which correlate to those reported in the literature.