The prognostic of uremic syndrome had been improved by the development of renal replacement therapy. Uremic syndrome remains a dramatic medical concern in African sub-saharan countries. Nephrology practice has been introduced recently in Burkina Faso and epidemiological data on acute renal failure is not available. We conducted this study with the aim to describe the clinical profile of hospitalized patients. One hundred and twenty-one patients (18.4% of all admissions) with acute renal failure (creatinine>240micromol/L, abrupt onset) were included (age: 38.6+/-16.3y; creatinine: 1246.1+/-870.5micromol/L; urea: 40.2+/-18.3micromol/L), 75 men (age: 41.2+/-16.4) and 46 women (age: 34.2+/-15.2y). Acute renal failure was of medical cause in 91 cases, surgical cause in 16 cases and gyneco-obstetrical in 14 cases. Many pathophysiological factors have been identified like volume depletion, infections and obstruction. Acute renal failure was renal in 57 cases (age: 38.2+/-14.6y), prerenal in 43 cases (age: 36.8+/-16.7y) counting acute tubular necrosis in 21 cases, obstructive in 15 cases (age: 50.5+/-15.6y) and unclassified in six cases. Comorbidities have been identified: heart failure (13 cases), hepatocellular failure (eight cases), tumours (four cases) and severe hypertension (13 cases). Dialysis was justified in 84 cases but only accomplished in 14 cases. Hospital length of stay was 20.4+/-14.9 days. Twenty-nine patients died and causes were uraemia in 13 cases, hepatic in three cases, sepsis in 10 cases, malignant tumour in two cases and associated in one case.