This study describes results from a surveillance system for risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases in 2005 in the city of Goiânia, Goiás State, Brazil. A probabilistic sample (n = 2,002) of the adult population living in households with landline telephones was studied by phone interviews. Factors investigated were: food consumption, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, self-reported weight and height, and self-reported medical diagnosis of chronic non-communicable diseases. Prevalence and c(2) values were calculated. The data showed: low consumption (< 5 days/week) of fruits and vegetables (47.1%), high rate of physical inactivity at work (86.6%), in commuting (92.6%), and during leisure time (61.9%), high alcohol consumption (36.5%), and high rates of obesity (10.6%), hypertension (22.4%), dyslipidemia (18.4%), and diabetes (4.4%). Most of the factors were inversely related to schooling and directly related to age (p < 0.05). High prevalence of risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases was reported. The advantages of this system were: low operational cost and the ability to monitor trends in chronic non-communicable diseases at the local level.