Background: This study analyzed the most prevalent diagnoses of oral lesions submitted to biopsy using data from a pathology laboratory and associations between malignant and oral potentially malignant disorders with patient’s demographic variables and the anatomical location. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. All 1,298 histopathological reports of oral lesions recorded in the database of the Institute of Pathology were reviewed. Demographic variables, anatomical location of the lesion, histopathological diagnosis of the lesions and their biological behavior were analyzed using a logistic regression. Results: Regarding the biological behavior of the identified lesions, benign lesions were predominant (70%), followed by lesions of undetermined behavior (14.3%), malignant lesions (14.2%), absence of histological alteration in the sample (1.2%), and finally, oral potentially malignant disorders (0.5%). The anatomical locations of the most prevalent oral lesions potentially malignant disorders and malignant were in the following structures of the oral cavity: gums, roof of the mouth, floor of the mouth, inner lining of the cheeks (P=49.2%), and tongue (P=48.7%). In the final adjusted model, the probability of malignant and premalignant lesions was higher among males (PR= 4.21; 95% CI 2.08-6.22), the increase in age (PR = 1.06; 95% CI 1, 05-1.08), and in the tongue region (PR = 5.48; 95% CI 1.67; 17.92). Conclusion: This study suggests that the probability of identifying malignant and oral potentially malignant disorders is higher in males whit age advanced and specimens from the tongue.