Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of 54 paradental cysts. Method and materials: The cases were retrieved from the files of the Department of Oral Pathology of the University of São Paulo, in Brazil. Only case files that included complete data, radiographs, and clinical history were used for the study. Results: Most of the cysts were adjacent to a partially erupted mandibular third molar; only two cysts were adjacent to mandibular second molars, and one cyst was adjacent to a first molar. Women were affected more often than were men (33:21), and most of the patients were in their second or third decades. In most cases, the affected tooth had a history of one or more episodes of pericoronitis. Histologically, these cysts presented the typical features of an inflammatory cyst, having a lining epithelium, which apparently resulted from a union between reduced enamel epithelium and oral epithelium. Conclusion: Development of the paradental cyst could be avoided if episodes of pericoronitis were properly treated, because the cyst is usually related to pericoronitis.