Objective To determine the characteristics and frequency of publication of research works presented at international scientific congresses by medical students between the years 2011-2014. Methods A cross-sectional study evaluating the characteristics of abstracts of research papers presented at international congresses, using a Google Scholar search strategy to see if they had been published in scientific journals. Prevalence ratios (PR), 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and P values were obtained using generalised linear models. Results Of the 783 abstracts found, 35% were students of Zone A (Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay), 278 (36%) occurred in 2011 and 56% (436) were on clinical sciences. The publication frequency was 11% (83). In the multivariate analysis, that of the scientific society had been the country of Colombia (PR: 2.54; 95% CI: 1.56 to 4.12; P < .001), and that having an adviser (PR: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.05 to 9.65, P = 0.041) increased the frequency of publication of scientific papers. Conclusions The publication of the research presented by students at congresses is of very low frequency. Having an assessor prior to publication increased the frequency. The student and academic institutions should take into account to not only encourage research and present it at meetings, but also to conclude it by publishing it.