ABSTRACT The prevalence of malnutrition in homes for the elderly is well-known, yet research does not exist concerning differences among types of homes. In this study, the association of nutritional status (measured with MNA-FV and anthropometric measures) with the type of home for the elderly (charity, government, private) was evaluated. A cross-sectional study in adults > 60 years was carried out. Students t, U of Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, or Kruskal Wallis test with statistical significance p < 0.05 were used for statistical analysis. In the study, 152 elderly (95 female) persons with an average age of 81.4 years (SD 7.82) participated; 59.6% had a normal nutritional status and 45.3% had a normal BMI. Malnutrition, risk of malnutrition and low calf circumference were associated with private homes (p < 0.05). We concluded that nutritional status varies by type of home and this nutritional profile possibly depends on criteria used to admit persons into each type of facility.