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Background: Cerebrovascular disease is a major public health problem in both industrialized countries and developing nations. In Mexico there are not enough studies to know the epidemiological behaviour of this disease. Objectives: To describe and analyze epidemiological variables in a specific group of patients with cerebral vascular disease admitted to hospitals in Mexico City. Patients and methods: In a multicenter, retrospective and observational study, the coordinators of each school reviewed tomographic studies and clinical records of patients admitted in five hospitals in Mexico City with the diagnosis of cerebral vascular disease in 2005. The analysis included the following variables: age, gender and other cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking and atrial fibrillation. The prognosis was established as discharge due to improvement or death. Results: The diagnosis was made in 669 patients aged 39 to 99 years (mean: 72 years [SD 12.10]) Of these, 286 were women (42.7%). It was reported 488 cases of ischemic type (72.94%), 135 parenchymal haemorrhages (20.17%) and 46 subarachnoid haemorrhages (6.8%). The territory of the middle cerebral artery was the most commonly affected (84.30%) and systemic arterial hypertension was the most common risk factor in this group of patients. The average days of hospital stay was 9.87 (standard deviation: 9.57) and mortality was reported in 26% (174 patients). Conclusion: Our study provides epidemiological information of a new and reliable global public health problem. The ageing of our population coupled with the combination with other risk factors increase the frequency of cerebral vascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]