The perceived stress scale (PSS-10) reliability and validity were evaluated in Brazilian adults. A two-stage translation procedure was employed to achieve a Portuguese version. Participants were 793 Brazilian university teachers. The exploratory factor analysis showed two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 (56.8% of variance). The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.83 (Factor 1), 0.77 (Factor 2) and 0.87 (Total Score). The test-retest reliability scores were 0.83 (Factor 1), 0.68 (Factor 2) and 0.86 (Total Score). PSS-10 and perceived health correlations ranged from -0.22 to -0.35. The PSS-10 showed an adequate reliability and validity supporting its use in this population.