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Introduction: obturator hernias suppose an infrequent entity, reported in very old, thin and multiparous women, its location is more frequent in the right side. The preoperative diagnosis is a challenge and its management is surgical. Case report: a 48-year-old male patient with a history of relative nature health was presented; he attended the emergency department with abdominal pain of colic-diffuse type, predominantly in the lower abdomen, accompanied by nausea. Physical examination revealed peritoneal signs in the left iliac fossa; simple abdominal radiography provided an image of the intestinal loop at the level of the obturator foramen. An exploratory laparotomy was performed through infraumbilical mean and pinching of the antimesenteric edge of the terminal ileum segment was found through the obturator foramen, with distention of thin loops above the impingement; it was reduced without complications. The viability of the affected intestine segment was tested without the need for resection and the wall was repaired by plicating the peritoneum with non-resorbable suture as a result the defect was corrected. Conclusions: obturator hernia is an infrequent entity and practically not reported in young men and on the left side. Its clinical picture is nonspecific and the diagnosis depends on the clinical suspicion, complementary findings or during laparotomy. The treatment is always surgical.