Recent research results indicated that alcohol dependence may be related to periodontal disease independently from oral hygiene status. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between alcohol dependence and the prevalence of periodontal disease. Methods: A cross sectional study of 90 men, 50 of them alcoholics (G1) and 40 non-alcoholics (G2) was conducted at Phillipe Pinel Institute in Rio de Janeiro. Patients were screened for alcohol dependence using the CAGE questionnaire and sociodemographic data was collected. The periodontal clinical parameters used were: plaque index (PI), gingival bleeding (GB), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment levels (CAL). Groups were paired for smoking. Intergroup comparisons of the sociodemographic data and the mean percentage of clinical parameters were obtained by the Chi-square and the Mann-Whitney test, respectively. PPD and CAL were grouped in three categories: percentage of sites <4mm, 4mm-6mm and >6mm. Results: The mean age of G1 and G2 were 46.06 (±7.92) and 43.45 (±8.43) (Mann-Whitney, p=0.161) respectively. No statistical differences were found between groups for sociodemographic data, except for income (Chi-square p=0.048). The alcoholic group presented a higher mean percentage of 4mm ≤ PPD≤ 6mm sites compared to non-alcoholic patients (G1=28.28%,±22.85 and G2=16.13, ±14.60; Mann-Whitney, p=0.031). Although, G1 presented higher scores for others periodontal clinical parameters compared to G2, no significant differences were found between groups for PPD< 4mm (G1= 74.27%,±26.32; G2=84.48%,±15.65), PPD>6mm (G1= 4.09%,±6.63; G2= 2.18%,± 1.85), CAL<4mm(G1= 69.39%,± 27.55; G2=79.35%, ±17.64), 4mm ≤CAL≤ 6mm (G1=27.44%,±21.63; G2= 19.12%,±14.39), CAL>6mm (G1=9.11%,±17.32;G2=4.72%,±4.94), PI (G1=57.12%, ±31.12; G2= 45.73%, ±26.00) and GB (G1=26.51%,±26.91; G2=17.67%,±17.29). Conclusion: Alcoholics presented a higher prevalence of moderate pockets compared to the non-alcoholics patients.