A systematic study of the cryopreservation of T. cruzi culture forms was per formed using different parasite strains and freezing methods. The recovery rates with some of the methods as evaluated by motility of the thawed parasites were fairly high (60-80%). The following aspects have been used to investigate the stability of the parasites' biological characteristics atter cryopreservation: growth and differentiation in acelular medium, infectivity to tissue culture "Vero" cells, intracellular differentiation and infectivity to animals. Those characteristics had not been significantly changed by the cryopreservation procedures.