Head and neck carcinomas are among the most frequent tumor types worldwide and the most common variant is the squamous cell carcinoma from the upper aerodigestive tract (HNSCC). Genetic alterations in tumor suppressor genes increase the risk of tumor development, since these genes are associated with cycle cell control. Epigenetic changes involving cell cycle regulatory genes are related to the initiation and progression of various tumors. The hypermethylation of tumor suppressor gene P16 is found in many types of cancers and is associated with gene silencing. The aim of this study was to determine the methylation status of the promoter region of P16 in DNA from tumor samples of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.Forty bisulfite pretreated DNA tumor samples from HNSCC patients were evaluated for the hypermethylation profile of P16 using the pyrosequencing technique. The association between clinical features such as age at diagnosis, tumor site and clinical stage and P16 promoter methylation was evaluated.In the analyzed cohort (median: 54years old), only ten samples (25%) showed aberrant methyation in the promoter region of P16. Among these, 80% were tobacco and 60% alcohol consumers. In addition, the methylation status of tumors were not significantly associated with age at diagnosis (P=1.00), tumor site (P=1.00) nor clinical stage (P=1.00).Contrary to expected, none of the clinical parameters analyzed showed significant association to P16 hypermethylation status. More samples may be evaluated to suggest an association with clinical features.