: Background: Low academic performance is a problem in higher - level students, diffe-rent factors influence, being the family one of the most important. Objective: To determine the relationship between family functionality and academic performance in medical students of a public university of Veracruz. Material and methods: A descriptive, cross - sectional study was carried out. The sample was 182 students. The scale (FF-SIL) was applied to measure family functioning, rela-ting to the school average. The study variables were analyzed using the Chi - square test, p < 0.05 Results: A significant poor correlation was found between family functionality and academic performance (Spearman, rs = 0.28, p < 0.05). Of the 182 students evaluated, significant academic performance was found from good to excellent; 89.5% ha-ve an average higher than 8; 88.4% of the families were moderately functional to functional, 11.6% were families from severely dysfunctional to dysfunctional (p = 0.0001). The interaction that pre-vailed was harmony, present in 86.2% (p = 0.0001), followed by cohesion with 69.2% (p = 0.010), affecti-vity with 63.7% (p = 0.017). Conclusion: Significant poor correlation was found between family functionality and academic performance. Academic performance was significant from good to excellent.