The budget is one of the basic ways through which public policies are set forth. The Brazilian's new Constitution (effective since 1988) not only recognizes such condition but also expands the budget cycle by including typical planning activities - the establishment of public administration's objectives, goals and priorities - as identified phases of the budgetary process. This article analyses the budgetary cycle under the theoretical focus, where it is compounded by four phases - preparation, appropriation, execution and evaluation or auditing -, and under the light of Brazilian's new Constitution, where the budgetary cycle is expanded to an eight phases process. Each phase is detailed in terms of its basic activities and evaluated in terms of its problems and peculiarities. Such appraisal shows that the Brazilian Congress has been enlarging, year by year, its role in policy formulation and in funding public programs, as well as that it is moving toward the development of tools for effective control over the Executive Branch, mainly in relation to budget's execution.Abordagem técnico-jurídica do tema ciclo orçamentário. Apreciação das modificações introduzidas pela Constituição de 1988 no ciclo orçamentário tradicional. Detalhamento de cada uma das fases e explicitação de suas atividades, problemas e singularidades. Avaliação prospectiva das tendências, no que se refere ao  aprimoramento de processos críticos às várias fases do ciclo orçamentário.