Sexual desire increases significantly during adolescence, in consequence, many male and female adolescents start sexual intercourse before getting 18 years old. A search in Pubmed and Scholar Google was done. Key words used were adolescents, students, sexual behavior and Colombia. Papers which reported the prevalence of sexual intercourse among Colombian adolescents during the last decade (1999-2008) were reviewed. The prevalence of sexual intercourse ranged between 7.7% and 58.0%, mean of 27.2%. Being older, male, higher academic grade, and legal or illegal substance use was related to a history of sexual intercourse. Adolescents reported health risk behavior such as inconsistent condom use, sexual intercourse after substance use and sexual intercourse with a recently known partner, there were some gender differences. The findings have relevance for sexual and reproductive public health. Comprehensive programmes should be designed to promote a healthy sexual development among Colombian adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]