BACKGROUND: The protein-energy malnutrition alters the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis. Its prevalence may vary according to the etiology of liver disease, it´s severity and the evaluation of the method applied. The infection by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and alcoholism are the main etiologies of cirrhosis and result in a significant morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional status of patients with cirrhosis according the liver disease etiology and severity. METHODS: It is a prospective study, in which the sample was for convenience and consisted of patients with cirrhosis, infected by HCV or alcoholic etiology. The nutritional status evaluation was carried out through anthropometry, food consumption, bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and subjective global assessment (SGA). The anthropometric data evaluated were weight, height, body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold (TSF), circumference of the arm (CA), non-dominant handshake strength (FAM) and the adductor pollicis muscle thickness (APM). Patients were classified according to the severity of liver disease, using the Child-Pugh and Model for End-stage Liver Diseases (MELD) scores. RESULTS: Ninety patients with cirrhosis were evaluated, 47 with HCV and 43 with alcoholic etiology. The prevalence of protein-calorie malnutrition ranged from 10.9% to 54.3% in the HCV group and from 4.7% to 20.9% in the alcoholic group, depending on the method used for evaluation. The group with HCV infection presented a higher malnutrition prevalence in comparison to the alcoholic in the following evaluations: TSF (P<0.001), phase angle (PA) (P=0.016) and SGA (P=0.010). PA values were lower in patients with viral cirrhosis (5.68±1.05) when compared to those with alcoholic etiology (6.61±2.31) (P=0.016). When all patients were analyzed, regardless of etiology, an inversely correlation was observed among Child-Pugh score and PA values (P=0.018). CONCLUSION: HCV cirrhosis showed worse nutritional parameters in comparison to alcoholic etiology; however, the PA was associated with worse liver function in both etiologies.