Purposes: to evaluate and describe the degrees of capacity and functional impairment in tracheostomized of a public hospital and their interrelations. Methods: case-control study, quantitative, descriptive and cross, done in a tertiary hospital, linked to the National Health System Capacity and functional impairment were assessed using the Barthel Index and the Karnofsky Performance Scale in tracheostomized and not tracheotomized into four wards. The study group was matched with a control group taking into account age, sex and illness that led to hospitalization. Results: the sample consisted of 52 patients, 30 males and 22 females. The mean age of the study group was 55.4 years and in the control group 55.1 years. Statistical analysis of the Barthel Index in the study group classified 84.62% of patients as totally dependent for the realization of the ten domains of the instrument, contrary to the control group only 15.38% of patients had this degree of physical dependence and 53.85% showed complete independence the same activities. The lifting of the Karnofsky scale showed that 57.69% of the study group had a 40% score, unlike the control group 42.31% got 90% score.