The city of Lima, the capital of Peru, was founded on January 18, 1535, and played a leading role in the history of the Americas from 1542, when king Carlos V established the vice royalty of Peru, until the middle of the 18 th century. In 1988, UNESCO declared the historic center of Lima a World Heritage Site for its originality and high concentration of historic monuments constructed at the time of the Spanish presence and at the beginning of the Republican era. The architecture of buildings corresponds in general to typical Hispano-American baroque of the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Since its founding, the city has suffered many earthquakes that have severely and adversely affected historic buildings. Reconstruction work has been done keeping the originality of buildings. This study starts first with a general diagnosis of problems concerning the city and its buildings. A survey for preliminary evaluation of the structural condition of buildings is then planned. This evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of historic buildings at the historic center of Lima represents the basic study that is necessary to initiate detailed investigation for the preservation and conservation of these historic buildings. The study intends to establish a general guideline for vulnerability evaluation of historic buildings that could be applied to the evaluation of other historic cities of Peru.