ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of MRSA among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) being monitored in a tertiary outpatient hospital in the state of Pernambuco, in the Brazilian Northeast.ResultsStaphylococcus aureus was isolated from a nasal swab and found in 31.4% of the individuals (95% CI 27.3–35.5), of whom 4.4% (95% CI 8.5–19.5) were MRSA, as confirmed by the presence of the mecA gene. For individuals whose S. aureus was recovered, the mean age was 41.5 years; 93.6% were on antiretroviral treatment. This group had CD4 cell counts > 200 (92%) and viral load ≤ 100 copies (79.1%). Use of antimicrobial agents in the past 12 months was found among 21% of the individuals, and 24.2% reported use of illicit drugs at lease once in their lifetime. Prevalence of nasal colonization by MSSA (26.7%) and MRSA (4.4%) was higher in comparison to other studies of this population; nevertheless, we were unable to establish factors associated with risk.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3899-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.