Artículo de publicación SCIELOBackground: The inverse relationship between height and mortality risk has been well established in developed countries, but remains practically unexplored in Latin American societies. Setting: Chile, 11,600 adults living in the urban centre of Mostazal. Design: Prospective cohort study of a weighted random sample of 795 subjects followed during 8 years. Methods: Height (percentiles 50 and 75 by sex) along hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption and hereditary cardiovascular disease were assessed at baseline. Relative risks of all-cause mortality with 95% confidence intervals were computed in Cox regression models adjusting for age, gender, cardiovascular risk factors and joint-effects of other socioeconomic measures.