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Introduction: The use of electronic games has become frequent among youngs, however, the abusive use of games and the implications of such behavior are still poorly understood. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of abusive use of electronic games and associated factors in high school students in the urban area of Pelotas-RS. Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out in the urban perimeters of the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Socio-demographic variables, school performance, common mental disorders by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and game addiction by Game Addiction Scale (GAS) were evaluated. Results: The prevalence of abuse of games was 8.6%. Being a male (RP 3.79 CI 95% 1.42-10.1), being a repetitive scholar (RP2,15IC95% 2,99-8,39) and manifesting common mental disorders (RP 5.73 95% CI 2.29-14,3) are factors associated with abusive use of electronic games. Discussion: The high prevalence of abusive use of games in association with lower school performance and the presence of common mental disorders should be studied more broadly, since such phenomenon may be one of the determinants for not achieving the complete physical, mental and social well-being of these young people.