INTRODUÇÃOO uso de plantas medicinais e de suas formas derivadas tem sido a base da terapia através dos séculos (Marchese et al., 2009). Numerosas etapas marcaram a evolução da arte de curar, porém torna-se difícil delimitá-las com exatidão, uma vez que a medicina esteve por muito tempo associada a práticas mágicas, místicas e ritualísticas. As plantas adquiriram fundamental importância na medicina popular por suas propriedades terapêuticas ou tóxicas (Martins et al., 1995 ABSTRACT: Preliminary survey on medicinal plants used in the district of Salobrinho in the city of Ilhéus, Bahia. This study aimed to conduct an ethnobotanical survey of the main species used for medicinal purposes by the Salobrinho community in Ilhéus (BA). Several interviews were conducted wit theh application of a semi-structured questionnaire and the collection of plant material for identification. Despite the high number of cited plants, only 51 cultivated species were found in the households of the respondents which are distributed into 32 families and 42 genera, with Lamiaceae as the most representative family, followed by Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae and Verbenaceae. Most of them were herbaceous or shrub introduced plants. The leaves were the most used portion of the plant to prepare medications (86%) and the tea was the main use (70%). There were 86 different indications and the most cited ones were related to gastrointestinal problems, with 308 citations, followed by 171 indications relating to respiratory diseases. The species with the highest corrected concordance use index was Lippia alba, indicated for the treatment of stomachache and as a tranquilizer. It was concluded that the remote location of the district in relation to the built areas of the city, the rural origins of its inhabitants, and their socioeconomic status possibly contributed to the accumulation of knowledge about the treatment of various diseases using medicinal plants.