OBJECTIVE To evaluate the performance of lipid profile screening according to the mode of financing of medical appointments - public or private. METHODS A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out with a multi-stage sampling strategy. The study included 3,136 adults (>or=20 years old) from the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil, in 2006. The following indicators were calculated: coverage (proportion of screened individuals among those meeting screening criteria), focus (proportion of individuals meeting screening criteria among those who were tested), screening errors (tests in individuals not meeting screening criteria - overscreening - and no screening of individuals meeting the screening criteria - underscreening), and screening ratio (ratio between number of individuals who met screening criteria and the number who failed to meet screening criteria among all individuals tested). Bivariate analyses were performed using Chi-squared tests. 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for all parameters assessed. RESULTS General coverage was 73.0% (95%CI: 70.8;75.2), and focus was 67.2% (95% CI: 64.7;69.3). In the public sector, compared to the private/health plan sector, coverage was lower (65.2% vs. 82.2%; p<0.001), focus was higher (74.7% vs. 62.3%; p<0.001), overscreening was lower (33.1% vs. 56.4%; p<0.0001), and underscreening was higher (34.8% vs. 17.8%; p<0.0001). Screening ratio was higher in the public (1.97) than in the private sector (1.46). CONCLUSIONS The evaluation of adequacy of lipid profile requests among the population can provide important information regarding the following of protocols for screening and following-up dyslipidemias in different healthcare systems and, within a same system, between different modes of financing. Evaluations of this type provide an opportunity to diagnose inequalities and plan efforts to ensure greater equity of care.