Abstract This article aims to compare the prevalence of active commuting to work in adults in the Southern region of Brazil between 2006 and 2016 according to sociodemographic and labor characteristics. The data from the Brazilian System for the Surveillance of Risk and Protection Factors for Chronic Diseases - VIGITEL were compared in 2006 and 2016 (≥18 years). Active commuting to work, sex, age group, education and job characteristics were collected by telephone survey and transportation in the cities of Florianópolis, Curitiba and Porto Alegre, using absolute and relative frequencies with their respective 95% confidence intervals. Active commuting increased significantly in 2016 compared to 2006. Florianópolis had the highest prevalence in the two years analyzed. In all capitals, there was a significant increase in the prevalence of the outcome, mainly for women, with secondary education and only in Florianópolis for men, with low schooling. The prevalence has also increased for job characteristics in all capitals. Active commuting to work increased significantly among adults living in southern Brazil, with emphasis on Florianópolis. Expanding interventions in this context is a necessity in Brazil.