Objective. To estimate the prevalence of and risk factores for fals among community-dwelling elders in Latin America and the Caribbean and among elderly Mexican-Americans in the southwestern United States. Methods. Data tfor the study came from a project called Health, Well-Being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (Salud, Bienestar Y Evenjecimient en América Latina y el Caribe) (the "SABE project") (surveys from seven cities, with a total of 9 765 subjects) and from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) (1 483 subjects). Results. The overall prevalence of falls across the seven SABE cities and the H-EPESE ranged from 21.6% in Bridgetown, Barbados, to 34.0% in Santiago, Chile. In multiple logistic regression analyses, female gender, increased age, high depressive symptmoms, and having any functional limitations were significant independet risk factores for falls in most of the cities studied as well as among the elderly Mexican-Americans. In several of the cities, significant risk factores also included diabets, urinary incontinence, and arthritis. Conclusions. The prevalence of falls has a large variation among the couries studied. Some of the risk factores that we identified could be modified so as to help prevent falls in older people in these populations. The factors deserving attention include depressive symptoms, funcional limitations, diabetes, and urinary incontinence.