To assess the knowledge of elementary and high school students about oral cancer, risk factors, self-examinati on, preventi on, diagnosis and treatment. Method: The study comprised 826 students from public elementary and high school in the citi es of Arcoverde, Caraíbas and Venturosa in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Aft er explaining the scope of the study, the authors/researchers interviewed the students by the applicati on of a questi onnaire in the schools. Immediately aft er data collecti on, educati onal/ preventi ve acti viti es were developed (Durati on: 4 hours class in each class of up to 30 students) to explain about the disease, risk factors, preventi on and self-examinati on. At the end, the parti cipants were asked to give a feedback about the performed acti viti es. The data were analyzed stati sti cally by descripti ve stati sti cs. Results: The students presented a similar knowledge profi le in all three citi es. There was a predominance of women with incomplete elementary educati on and a mean age of 16 years (55%). Although 60% of the interviewees affi rmed having heard about the disease, they could not associate correctly the risk factors. Smoking, alcohol and the sun were identi fi ed as risk factors by 20% of the sample. Self-examinati on was unknown by 96% and 80% stated not knowing what to do if a lesion was discovered, while 6% said they would visit a denti st. Their own general and oral health was considered good by 53% and 22% said they were undergoing dental treatment. Almost all (99%) said that they enjoyed the acti viti es, learned about the risk factors, acquired new knowledge, warranted that they would take bett er care of themselves and would transmit the obtained informati on to other people and learned about selfexaminati on. Conclusion: The results reaffi rmed the need of orientati on/ educati on/preventi on. Objeti vo: Verifi car o conhecimento de escolares de ensino médio e fundamental acerca do câncer de boca, fatores de risco, auto-exame, prevenção, diagnósti co e tratamento. Método: Estudo realizado com 826 alunos de escolas públicas de ensino médio e fundamental, do Sertão (Arcoverde, Caraíbas, Venturosa) Pernambuco, Brasil. Após a explicação sobre o projeto, foi aplicado um questi onário prévio, através de entrevista pessoal, realizada pelos pesquisadores/autores, deste trabalho, nas escolas, e, imediatamente, após a obtenção dos dados foram desenvolvidas ati vidades educati vas/preventi vas (CH= 4 h/a em cada turma de até 30 alunos) de esclarecimento aos escolares sobre a doença, fatores de risco, de prevenção e auto-exame e, ao fi nal, foram coletados depoimentos sobre as ati vidades realizadas. Foi realizada análise estatí sti ca descriti va dos dados. Resultados: Os escolares apresentaram um perfi l de conhecimento semelhante nos três locais estudados. Houve predomínio do 55% do sexo feminino, com ensino fundamental incompleto, idade média de 16 anos. Embora 60% tenham afi rmado haver ouvido falar sobre a doença, não souberam associar corretamente os fatores de ris...