Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) presents distinctive characteristics in different geographical areas. With the purpose of evaluating the clinical characteristics, particularly in relation to the frequency and etiopathogeny of the complications in São Paulo, in comparison to other centers, 545 patients with this disease were analyzed, retrospectively, 493 (90.5%) of these patients were males and 52 (9.5%) females, with ages ranging from 8 to 88 (38.2 +/- 9.3 years). The diagnosis of CP was based on criteria previously adopted by the Pancreas Group of Gastroenterology Studies of the Medical School of São Paulo. The principal etiologic factors were represented by: chronic alcoholism in 509 of the 545 patients (93.4%), hereditary factors in four (0.7%), malnutrition in three (0.5%), metabolic alterations in three (0.5%) and obstruction to the pancreatic flow in two patients (0.3%). In 24 (4.4%) of the 545 patients, the etiologic factor could not be established, due to the idiopathic nature of the disease. Of the 509/545 patients (93.4%) presenting chronic ethylism, alcoholic consumption was characterized by: a) mean age alcoholic consumption was initiated: 19.5 +/- 6.5 years; b) mean daily alcoholic consumption in grams of pure ethanol: 358.6 +/- 282.0 g/d; c) mean time of alcoholic consumption: 19.8 +/- 8.8 years, and d) mean age of the appearance of clinical symptoms: 34.9 +/- 9.8 years. The clinical complications were always investigated in accordance with the pre-established protocol; the principal complications observed were represented by: gastrointestinal compression (3.3%), jaundice (24%), cysts (35.9%), cavity effusions (13.3%), pancreatic necrosis (4.7%), abscesses (3.6%), digestive hemorrhage of pancreatic origin (2.3%) and fistulae (1.1%). The incidence of these complications, particularly cysts, cavity effusions and pancreatic necrosis, was greater in the patients studied than in those observed in other regions, probably due to the presence of more intense and frequent anatomopathologic lesions found in these patients, possibly resulting from the greater consumption of alcohol compared to patients with this disease in other centers. The etiopathogenic mechanisms for the complications were individually analyzed and interpreted.