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Background/objective Melanoma is the third most frequent malignant neoplasm in skin. The majority of information available comes from studies performed in Caucasian populations. Our objective was to investigate the clinico-pathological characteristics in Mexican patients with cutaneous melanoma and the relationship these characteristics had to prognosis. Methods A retrospective study included patients with a histopathological diagnosis of melanoma who were attended at a tertiary level Dermatology Institute over a 10-year period. Age, gender, anatomical location; histopathological subtype, Breslow thickness, Clark level; presence of ulceration, metastasis, anatomical-pathological stage and survival were investigated. To assess the data, descriptive statistics, chi-squared or the Fisher exact test and Kaplan-Meier curves were used. Results There were 323 patients included. The overall survival rate was 77% with an average follow-up of 7 years. The lowest survival was statistically related to the following: higher age (>65 years), localisation in palms/soles, histopathological nodular subtype, presence of ulceration, Breslow thickness >4.0 mm, Clark level V, the presence of metastasis and stage IV disease. Conclusions Our results relay the characteristics and prognosis of patients with the diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma in western Mexico.