-The community structure of dung beetles in the middle and lower river basin of the Gaira river, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, is described. Four sites were selected along an altitudinal gradient of 50-940 m for sampling from June to October, 2004. Dung beetles were captured using modifi ed pitfall traps and manual recollections. We captured 7,872 individuals belonging to 29 species, distributed in 15 genera and fi ve tribes of Scarabaeinae. Canthon and Onthophagus were the most diverse genera, each represented by six species. The sampled sites shared the following species: to the functional group of diggers and 10 were ball-rollers. We did not observe signifi cant among-site differences in community structure. Abiotic factors such as altitude, temperature and humidity cannot explain observed variation in community structure across sites, indicating other variables such as vegetation cover, density of the vegetation and soil type may play a role in the community structure of these insects.KEY WORDS: Community, ecology, altitudinal gradient, structure and composition, Gaira river basin RESUMEN -Se describe la estructura de la comunidad de escarabajos coprófagos en la cuenca media y baja del río Gaira, Sierra No se registraron diferencias signifi cativas entre las cuatro estaciones con respecto estructura de la comunidad. Tampoco se observó correlación entre los factores abióticos y la estructura de la comunidad. La altitud, temperatura y humedad no explican las diferencias en la distribución de la comunidad, indicando que otras variables, como la cobertura vegetal, la densidad de la vegetación y el tipo de suelo pueden jugar un papel en la estructura de la comunidad de estos insectos.