BACKGROUND: arterial hypertension (AH) is a health problem that affects a large number of undiagnosed or inadequately treated hypertensive individuals and presents a high rate of treatment nonadherence. OBJECTIVE: to estimate the prevalence of AH and its correlation with some cardiovascular risk factors among the adult population of the town of Firminopolis, state of Goiás, Brazil. METHODS: descriptive, observational and cross-sectional population-based study of a simple random sample (age > 18 years): standardized questionnaires with blood pressure (BP) measurements (AH criterion: BP > 140 x 90 mmHg), weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Data were stored (Microsoft Access) and analyzed using Epi-info software. RESULTS: we evaluated 1,168 individuals, with a predominance of the female sex - 63.2% and a mean age of 43.2 ± 14.9 years. There was a prevalence of overweight in 33.7% of the individuals and obesity in 16.0% of the individuals. There was a prevalence of altered WC in 51.8% demand of smoking in 23.2%. A sedentary life style at work and leisure activities was present in 67.6% and 64.8% of the individuals, respectively, with a higher proportion seen among the women. Alcohol consumption was observed in 33.3% of the sample. The prevalence of AH was 32.7%, higher among the men (35.8%) than among the women (30.9%). A positive correlation with AH was identified with BMI, WC and age range. A negative correlation was observed between AH and level of schooling, with 18.2% of hypertensive individuals with 9 or more years of schooling. CONCLUSION: a high prevalence of AH, overweight and WC alteration was identified. The female sex represented a protective factor for the risk of AH. A positive correlation was found between AH and BMI, WC and age range; a negative correlation was identified between AH and level of schooling.