Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is characterized by continuous inflammation of the lining of the rectum and colon and althought its pathogenesis is not established, it occurs from the result of an association between genetic and environmental factors. The incidence is higher in developed countries, but it has seen a growth in developing countries. In Brazil, there are few epidemiological studies on UC. To characterize patients with UC in a reference center in the city of Salvador-BA/Brazil. We designed a cross-sectional study in a referral center for adult patients diagnosed with IBD. Interviews with patients and chart review were conducted. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL). Quantitative variables were expressed as median and variations or as mean ± SD when normally distributed. Qualitative variables were expressed as frequency. We included 200 patients, 123 (61.5%) with UC, 70 (35%) with CD and 7 (3.5%) with IC. We analyzed 123 patients with UC, which 76 (61.8%) were female. The average age was 44.20 years ± 14.22. The average time between symptom onset and diagnosis was 21.9 months. The average age at diagnosis was 37.35 years ± 12.59. In the self-declaration, 54 (43.9%) patients said they were mixed-race, 42 (34.1%) patients declared themselves as black and 19 (15.4%) patients reported they were white. Of the patients, 34.2% were smokers or had a history of smoking. Most of them (90.2%) had no family history of IBD. Regarding the location of UC according to the Montreal classification, 53 (43.1%) patients presented extensive colitis, 52 (42.3%) patients presented leftsided colitis and only 17 (13.8%) patients proctitis. Only 33 (26.8%) patients required hospitalization last year due to disease activity. Of these, two (1.6%) patients required total colectomy. As for medication, 106 (86.2%) patients were in 5-ASA therapy, which 57 (46.34%) were prescribed sulfasalazine, 40 (32.52%) oral mesalazine and 37 (30.8%) mesalazine suppository, including association between these drugs. Only 28 (22.8%) patients were taking azathioprine, 11 (8.9%) patients were taking steroids, and two (1.6%) patients were taking Anti-TNF therapy. There was a higher frequency of UC compared to CD, as reported in developing countries. Most patients were female and family history of IBD was infrequent, strengthening the importance of possible environmental factors as the etiology of the disease. The higher frequency of extensive colitis can be explained by the study had been performed in a referral center. Most patients were using 5-ASA, and a few patients were taking steroids or had been submitted to a colectomy which implies that the majority presented a good response to the maintenance therapy.