Psychoactives are chemical substances that operate in the central nervous system, whose action has the ability to provide changes in sensation, emotional state, level of consciousness and behavior of the individual. This study aimed to describe the use of psychoactives in university students. Data collection was performed through a structured self-administered questionnaire. The established significance level was 95% (p<0.05). A total of 372 university students participated in the study, mostly female (68.28%), concentrated in the age group from 18 to 23 years (74.48%), distributed by area of graduation, with a predominance of the Health and Well-Being area (55.92%). As for the use of psychoactive drugs in life, the most prevalent among college students were alcohol (89.78%), tobacco (37.37%) and marijuana (28.49%). It is concluded that psychoactive substances are widely used among university students, making it necessary to implement preventive measures.