The aim of the present study was to analyze the epidemiology of maxillofacial odontogenic and non-odontogenic cysts diagnosed for 30 years in a Brazilian population. A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was performed. Biopsy records were ob tained from the archives of a Brazilian referral center between 1989 and 2019. Data regarding age, gender, anatomical location, and histopathological diagnosis were collected and categorized. Further, a literature search for similar studies was performed. A total of 6.994 biopsy records were evaluated, but only 367 (5.24%) cases were classified as odontogenic cysts (OC) or non-odontogenic cysts (NOC). Among all cystic lesions, 341 cases (92.9%) were OC and 26 cases (7.1%) were NOC. These lesions were more common in females (n = 208 / 56.67%) and located mostly in the mandible (n = 195 / 53.1%). In patients with OC, the radicular cyst was the most frequent (n = 134 / 36.5%), followed by the dentigerous cyst (n = 101 / 27.5%) and the odontogenic keratocyst (n = 52 / 14.2%). Patients with NOC had a higher frequency of epidermoid cyst (n = 12 / 3.3%), oral lymphoepithelial cyst (n = 7 / 1.9%), and nasopalatine duct cyst (n = 4 / 1.1%). The OCs were more prevalent than NOCs, and inflammatory cysts were the most common among all the OCs.