SUMMARY BACKGROUND Scientific journals play a fundamental role in the field of health sciences, contributing not only to the dissemination of scientific results but also to the progress of medicine and the training of researchers. The visibility of scientific production in the health area is fundamental to the development of medicine. This study aimed to find the relationship between the editorial quality of a sample of Portuguese scientific health journals and their national and international visibility. METHODS This is an analytical, transversal and, essentially, quantitative study, based on the analysis of the compliance with Latindex editorial quality criteria in a sample of 46 scientific health journals and ascertaining their national and international visibility. RESULTS The research showed that the global average of compliance with the criteria by the sample of journals is 91%. The average visibility of the sample is 24%. The hypothesis that the editing criteria are related to the visibility of a sample of Portuguese health journals is confirmed. CONCLUSION Despite the high rate of compliance with editorial quality criteria, the international visibility of the journals analyzed is still scarce. This reveals the need for the development of complementary competences.