This is a cross sectional study conducted with 67 newborns admitted at the neonatal intensive care unit of a private hospital in São Paulo, between July and December 2010, who underwent 84 Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC line) placement procedures. The aim was to describe the prevalence and reasons of non-elective removal of the catheter. Data was collected from medical records and institutional forms related to PICC placement. The mean of corrected gestational age of the neonates was 32.8 weeks, weight 1671.6 g and postnatal age 9.4 days. The non-elective removal was observed in 33 (39.3%) catheters, 18.1% due to occlusion, 9.5% rupture, 7.1% extremity edema, 6.0% suspected infection, 1.2% accidental dislodgement 1.2% poor extremity perfusion and 1.2% due to extravasation. The prevalence and the reasons of non-elective removal indicated that strategies to prevent avoidable complications related to PICC are necessary.