The objective of this article is to analyze comparatively the importance of intellectual capital and the impact of intellectual capital on the performance of Brazilian companies awarded the Rio Grande do Sul Quality Award in 2004 and 2017. A sample of 72% of the Brazilian companies that received this Quality Award of the Gaucho Quality and Productivity Program in 2004 and 70.5% in 2017 were investigated. It can be affirmed that intellectual capital continues to be an essential asset, but during this period there have been some changes concerning the level of presence and importance among the elements that compose it. Regarding the changes in the influence of intellectual capital on organizational performance between 2004 and 2017, the results showed that intellectual capital, through human, structural and client capital, practically still has the same level of influence on organizational performance.