Companies face demands of competitiveness like quality, diversification and innovation. Large companies are more prepared to compete, having an innovation culture and creating constant awareness. However, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face innovation barriers, which limit their capability to compete, and growth. This paper analyzes the relationship between the innovation barriers and the capability to be competitive and grow of SMEs. For this purpose, we took a sample of 152 SMEs in the manufacturing sector of the State of Aguascal¡entes (Mexico) to analyze the performed correlation between those variables, making use of a quantitative study. The results show empirical evidence about the influence of the innovation barriers with competitiveness and growth of the SMEs studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]