Background: the study of salivary gland neoplasms is one of the most complex issues of cancer of the head and neck. Objective: to determine the behavior of tumors of the major salivary glands. Method: an observational-descriptive-retrospective case series in the Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the Hospital General Universitario Dr. Gustavo Lima Aldereguia of Cienfuegos, in the period from January 2000 through December 2009. Results: tumors of the major salivary glands occurred in the study population with a similarity between the sexes, with a slight predominance in males. The parotid gland was the most affected (93,55 %), pleomorphic adenoma was the most represented the benign tumor (58,06 %), while within the most frequent malignant adenocarcinoma (3,23 %). The most common surgical technique was subtotal parotidectomy. The (85,5 %) of clinical diagnoses corresponded with histopathological and the type of tumor is found that of the 51 benign lesions (82,26 %) are the largest percentage of agreement presented. In the present series were 61 patients (98,39 %) alive without disease, only 1 patient (1,61 %) had recurrence of their disease. We found no patient died during the study period. Conclusions: salivary gland tumors in the parotid gland predominate and are the most common benign tumors usually occur in adults.