ABSTRACT:Objective: To verify the hospitalization trend for primary care sensitive-conditions in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil from 1998 to 2012. Methods: An ecological study compared hospitalizations rates of the city of Pelotas with the rest of state of Rio Grande do Sul. Analysis was conducted using direct standardization of rates, coefficients were stratified by sex and the Poisson regression was used. Results: Hospitalizations for sensitive conditions decreased in Pelotas and Rio Grande do Sul. In Pelotas, a 63.8% decrease was detected in the period observed, and there was a 43.1% decrease in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Poisson regression coefficients showed a decrease of 7% in Pelotas and of 4% in the rest of Rio Grande do Sul each year. Conclusion: During the study period, several changes were introduced in the Brazilian Unified Health System ("Sistema Único de Saúde") that may have influenced the results, including changes in administration, health funding, and a complete reworking of primary care through the creation of the Family Health Strategy program ("Estratégia Saúde da Família"). . Since its creation, SUS underwent several modifications such as changes in its organizational structure, funding, primary care models, and the implementation of assorted measures, increasing the need for adequate programs and health actions evaluation 4 . An alternative to primary care evaluation is monitoring the hospitalization rates for primary care-sensitive conditions (HPCSC). Primary care-sensitive conditions are a set of 20 groups of diseases for which treatment at the right time could reduce or eliminate the risk of hospitalization, both by preventing their emergence and by adequately handling the condition 5 . Thus, proper coverage at the primary care level can decrease admission rates as services become more effective. A health care system that could adequately handle diseases prone to ambulatory control would present an appropriate effectiveness level 6,7 . In the same way, studies have shown that primary health care provision can be crucial for improving health condition in the population 8,9 . The Brazilian Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde) has published a list of primary care-sensitive diseases in Decree n. 221 of April 17, 2008, in which it is proposed that such indicator would evaluate the effectiveness level of the system and/or of hospital care 10 , thus acknowledging its importance. Based on this list, several inquiries have analyzed the behavior of HPCSC. An ecological study showed that HPCSC decreased by 24% between 1999 and 2007 in Brazil. Such decrease was also observed when comparing this group of