*** Medication use in children admitted to a general hospital ***AIMS: To describe the profile of medications used in children admitted to a general hospital.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with children aged 0 to 12 years, admitted to the Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in Tubarão, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, between July 2013 and July 2014. The following data were collected: f age, sex, length of hospital stay, International Classification of Diseases codes for hospitalization, and medications used. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system was used for the medications.RESULTS: The medical records of 1,603 children aged up to 12 years were analyzed. The hospital stay ranged from one to 115 days. The number of medications per admission ranged from one to 77, with an average of 9.84 medications per patient. A total of 211 different types of medications were used, most of which were classified as analgesic with central nervous system activity. Tonsillar hypertrophy and adenoid hypertrophy were the most prevalent disorders diagnosed among the 303 different International Classification of Diseases codes found in this study. Seven types of unlicensed medications and 23 drugs with some kind of restriction for pediatric use were prescribed.CONCLUSIONS: The average number of medications was high in hospitalized children, and the prescription of unlicensed drugs and those with some kind of restriction for pediatric use was an important factor. These data suggest poor attention to the risks and benefits of medication use in children – a relevant issue that requires continuous and intensive surveillance by different health professionals .