PURPOSE: to evaluate the influence of a sensory-motor-oral stimulation in preterm newborns. METHODS: twenty-eight preterm newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit of a University Hospital were randomly placed into stimulated and control groups. The stimulated group received a sensory-motor-oral stimulation twice a day. There were two ratings, measuring respiratory rate and heart rate, transfer tax, transition time between tube and oral feeding and weight increase. The results were analyzed through STATA 10 software, and the groups were compared through the Independent T Student Test (p<0,05). RESULTS: no statistically significant difference was found between the groups. CONCLUSION: there was no influence of sensory-motor-oral stimulation on the evaluated parameters.