ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the capacity of Charlson, SAPS 3 and SOFA scores to predict acute kidney injury, need for dialysis, and death in intensive care unit patients. Method: Prospective cohort, with 432 individuals admitted to four intensive care units. Clinical characteristics at admission, severity profile, and intensity of care were analyzed using association and correlation tests. The scores sensitivity and specificity were assessed using the ROC curve. Results: The results show that patients with acute kidney injury were older (65[27] years vs. 60[25] years, p = 0.019) and mostly are from the emergency department (57.9% vs. 38.0 %, p < 0.001), when compared to those in the group without acute kidney injury. For dialysis prediction, the results of SAPS 3 and SOFA were AUC: 0.590; 95%CI: 0.507–0.674; p-value: 0.032 and AUC: 0.667; 95%CI: 0.591–0.743; p-value: 0.000, respectively. All scores performed well for death. Conclusion: The prognostic scores showed good capacity to predict acute kidney injury, dialysis, and death. Charlson Comorbidity Index showed good predictive capacity for acute kidney injury and death; however, it did not perform well for the need for dialysis.