OBJECTIVES:  To trace the epidemiological profile of primary knee arthroplasty surgery concerning the use of implants with national manufactured or imported and knee prosthesis revision in a  health care system of public employees located in Northeast Brazil between July 2014 and December 2015. METHODS:  A retrospective cohort study. We analyzed 366 primary arthroplasties knee surgery and 74 revision surgery after Knee arthroplasty authorized in an health care system of public employeesfrom July 2014 to December 2015,considering age, sex, ICD and costs of primary arthroplasties surgery using national prosthesis implantation or imported and prosthesis revisions. The data were collected in the electronic system of this health care system of public employees located (Bahia) in Northeast Brazil and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheets and statistical calculations by SPSS Statistics 17.0. RESULTS:  The average age considering the three groups was 68.74 ± 7.73 years, prevailing females in primary arthroplasties and the knee prosthesis revisions. In all of the records was found as etiology the gonarthrosis and the type of surgery performed was the primary total knee arthroplasty totaling in 366 cases using national implant or imported and 74 knee revision prosthesis between July 2014 and December 2015. The average hospitalization costs were slightly higher for primary knee arthroplasty with implant imported than national implant (+/-USD4,501; +/- USD 3,223 ). Already the average hospitalization cost for knee revision arthroplasty were higher than primary arthroplasty (+/-USD 12,644). CONCLUSIONS: Comparing the epidemiological results with recent bibliographical findings met largely proximities among data.