Abstract Introduction This study serves as a warning to dentists and researchers that dual-cured resin cements may not polymerize completely under some prosthetic crowns. Objective The aim of this study was to analyse the polymerization degree of dual-cured resin cements under prosthetic barrier, by microhardness test. Material and method Three cements (Bistite II, RelyX ARC and Variolink II) were light-cured through different barriers, placed between the cement and the light source: G1: without barrier; G2: composite resin (Cesead); G3: Inceram alumina; G4: IPS Empress; G5: Inceram zirconia; G6: tooth fragment. Photopolymerization was carried out using a halogen light unit (650 mW/cm2); microhardness was evaluated using the Microhardness Tester FM 700, under a load of 50gf with a dwell time of 15s, at two evaluation times (30min and 24h). Result The results were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey tests (5%). Both Inceram alumina and Inceram zirconia ceramic barriers hindered polymerization. Bistite, followed by RelyX and Variolink, exhibited the highest microhardness values (p