Introduction: Rheumatic diseases have high occurrence in older adults, which may lead to a reduction in independence and quality of life. Objective: To calculate prevalence and to identify factors associated with rheumatic diseases in older adults of the urban area of a municipality in Southern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study, conducted in 2008 in the city of Bagé-RS, Brazil with older adults aged 60 years or over. The outcome was defined from the question "Has any doctor told you that you have rheumatism, arthritis or arthrosis?" Poisson regression was used for the crude and adjusted analysis. Results: A total of 1,593 participants were interviewed. 27.3% (95% CI 25.0-29.5) reported having medical diagnosis of at least one of the rheumatic diseases studied. In the adjusted analysis, it was found that female sex (RP=2.86; 95% CI 2.28-3.59; p≤0.001), without schooling (RP=1.24; 95% CI 1.0-1.58; p=0.047), not living alone (RP=1.29; 95% CI 1.03-1.61; p=0.024), poor self-perception of health (PR=1.54; 95% CI 1.63-2.02; p=0.001), spinal problems (PR=1,96; 95% CI 1.67-2.31; p≤0.001), fall in the last year (PR=1.22; 95% CI 1.04-1.43; p=0.013), incapacity for instrumental activities of daily living (PR=1.20; 95% CI 1.02-1.41; p=0.028) and healthcare appointment in the last 3 months (PR=1.20; 95% CI 1.01-1.42; p=0.035) were associated with the presence of rheumatic diseases (rheumatism, arthritis and arthrosis). Conclusion: It is suggested that care of musculoskeletal problems of the spine should be increased, in order to reduce falls and functional disability in older adults, based on actions focused on the prevention of these problems.