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Introduction: Currently, the specie that is cultivated in Cuba is the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), due to its rapid reproduction and food conversion and is mainly used for export. In its processing, large amounts of waste are generated that can be used for obtaining products of commercial value, thereby reducing the environmental impact of this industry. Objective: To evaluate the deacetylation stage of chitin obtained experimentally from the Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp exoskeleton by chemical means. Materials and Methods: The chitin was obtained from the Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp exoskeleton, it was deacetylated with a NaOH solution at 10 mol/L, in a solid-liquid ratio 1: 4 (p / v), at 80 °C, 250 min-1, for two hours. The degrees of acetylation (DA) and deacetylation (DD) were calculated according to Khan et al., (2002). The test of the solubility of chitosan was also carried out according to Barra et al., (2012). The infrared spectra of chitin and chitosan were determined with FTIR equipment with ATR attachment. Results and Discussion: The degree of deacetylation for chitin was similar to that for chitosan, due to the effect of insufficient deproteinization of chitin. This was corroborated by the chitosan solubility test which showed a low quality. The IR spectra of chitin and chitosan were similar. Conclusions: The deproteinization of chitin influenced in the quality, and therefore, in its deacetylation. It must be guaranteed to work at temperatures close to 100 °C to achieve a good quality chitosan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]