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Introduction: Cleft lip and palate is the most frequent malformation of the head region and affects more than 10 million people worldwide. This study aims at evaluating the self-esteem in patients with cleft lip and palate and comparing that with the self-esteem of non-affected individuals during follow-up at the Department of Craniomaxillofacial Plastic Surgery of the Hospital de Clínicas of Porto Alegre. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, contemporary study with 160 participants, comprising 80 patients with cleft lip and palate who have already undergone surgical procedures for correcting the condition and 80 non-affected students and employees of the public-school system as a control group. We used a questionnaire to characterize the group and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale for data collection. Results: There was a significant difference between groups in terms of marital status, schooling, and school retention. Patients with a cleft lip and palate had lower levels of self-esteem than non-affected individuals. Among them, the individuals with bilateral clefts or complete clefts; female gender; economic strata of D/E; low level of schooling; families reconstituted during childhood; and with unsatisfactory results concerning communication, dentition, and lip scar also showed lower levels of self-esteem. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between cleft lip and palate and low self-esteem.