INTRODUCTION: The middle ear cholesteatoma is a relatively common disease, which has an insidious and destructive behavior. Therefore, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment help to prevent complications. Material and METHODS: A retrospective, nonrandomized, descriptive, study was conducted from 2007 to 2012 at St. Joseph's Hospital Avai. Sixteen patients, adults and children, with a diagnosis of middle ear cholesteatoma underwent radical mastoidectomy for cholesteatoma resection. They were analyzed for the following aspects: total surgical intervention, sex, age of onset, initial symptoms, affected side, and its complications and recurrences. RESULTS: The results are shown in the form of graphs and sector diagrams. CONCLUSION: Based on a survey of 16 patients who had cholesteatoma surgery, as well as a comparison of these patients with published international papers, we sought to contribute a greater insight into the epidemiology of this disease. This report emphasized a few publications on this subject in Brazil.