Introduction: When Brazilian numbers are compared to worldwide suicide rates, Brazil is found to have one of the lowest suicide rates (3.0 to 4.0/100,000/year inhabitants), especially in comparison to some European countries, whose rates reach over 40/100000/year inhabitants.However, in absolute numbers of deaths due to suicide, Brazil is among the 10 countries with the highest number of deaths, slightly more than 6.000 per year.The city of Fortaleza, capital of state of Ceará, is the 4th largest city in Brazil.The rate of suicide, when compared to others big cities in Brazil, increased substantially in the last decades.The rate increases from 2.7/100.000 inhabitants, in 1986, to 7,3/100.000 inhabitants in 2006.Objectives: An epidemiologic analysis of suicide of all cases was carried out in Fortaleza between the years 2000 and 2009 to describe variables associated with suicide.Methods: All suicides in this period (n=1979)were registered by Institute of Forensic Medicine of Fortaleza, which is the state institution responsible for collecting data observed in violent deaths.The following variables were considered in this study: gender, age, civil state, method of suicide and day of the week.Results: Males were responsible for 81% (n=1603) of all suicides.In all ages, the masculine gender prevails.The rate male-female of suicides tend to grow with the increase in age from 2∶1 in the age bellow 18 years to 7∶1 in the age above 60 years.The biggest prevalence of suicide is observed in single men (n=972) followed by married men (n=484).The lowest prevalence was in widowed women (n=17) and divorced women (n=19).In males, hanging was the most prevalent method (n=864) followed by poisoning (n=324), especially with carbonate.While in the feminine sex, poisoning was the most prevalence (n=164; 43.5% of all female suicides) followed by hanging (n=106; 28.1% of all female suicides).There was a prevalent above 90% of the following methods in males: hanging (n=864; 90%), fire arms (n=160; 92.9%) and knifes (n=12; 92.3%).The only method that women had a higher percentage than man is burning (n=18; 64.5%).Sunday and Monday were the days of the week more prevalent in males (n=559; 34.5% of man) as well as in females (n=137; 36.5% of woman).Conclusion: Suicide prevalence in males increases as they grow older.Hanging and poising are the most frequent methods.Therefore, special attention should be made to implement legislation to forbid the selling of carbonate which the most common chemical used in poising.