O presente estudo objetiva compreender o grau de sensibilidade ambiental do litoral da Ilha Grande a potenciais eventos de derramamento de oleo e as consequencias destes para os ecossistemas litorâneos. Foram realizados trabalhos de campo voltados para a caracterizacao morfologica e sedimentar de diversas praias ao redor da ilha e aplicacao do Indice de Sensibilidade Ambiental (ISA) a eventos de derramamento de oleo. Foram encontrados os seguintes indices de sensibilidade ambiental a poluicao por oleo: ISA 1, atribuido aos costoes rochosos no entorno da Ilha Grande; ISA 3, em praias como Lopes Mendes (P3), Santo Antonio e Dois Rios, no setor Meridional-oriental da ilha; ISA 4, para as praias de Freguesia de Santana, Japariz, Amor, Camiranga, Feiticeira, Preta, Abraao, Julia, Bica, Guaxuma, Abraaozinho, Mangues e Pouso, no setor Setentrional-oriental, praias de Lopes Mendes (P1 e P2) e Caxadaco, setor Meridional-oriental; praias da Parnaioca, Aventureiro, Meros, Proveta, Vermelha e Grande de Aracatiba, no setor Meridional-ocidental; Lagoa Verde e praia de Araca, no setor Setentrional-ocidental; ISA 5, no tocante as praias Comprida, Crena no setor Setentrional-oriental e Maguariquecaba no setor Setentrional-ocidental; ISA 10, correspondente as lagoas do Sul e do Leste. O estudo da sensibilidade ambiental aponta para niveis distintos de vulnerabilidade deste litoral a um eventual desastre dessa natureza. A expansao das atividades associadas a extracao petrolifera na Bacia de Santos, bem como o trafego intenso de embarcacoes na Baia da Ilha Grande, podem causar serios danos as atividades pesqueiras e turisticas na regiao, alem de comprometer os diversos ecossistemas costeiros e marinhos. Environmental sensibility of the Ilha Grande coast (Angra dos Reis, RJ) to potential oil spill disasters A B S T R A C T The objective of this study is to understand the risk and environmental sensitivity of the Ilha Grande coast to oil spill events and their consequences for coastal ecosystems areas. The methodology of this study is based on the fieldwork to characterize the morphology and sediments of some beaches; application of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) to oil spill events on the coast. The beaches analyzed in this study present the following environmental sensitivity indices to pollution caused by oil spill: ISA 1, attributed to the rocky shores around Ilha Grande; ISA 3, in the case of the beaches of Lopes Mendes (P3), Santo Antonio and Dois Rios, all located in the southern-eastern sector of the island; ISA 4, for the beaches of Santana, Japariz, Amor, Camiranga, Feiticeira, Preta, Abraao, Julia, Bica, Guaxuma, Abraaozinho, Mangues and Pouso (in the eastern sector), beaches of Lopes Mendes (P1 and P2 ) and Caxadaco (Southern-eastern sector), Parnaioca, Aventureiro, Meros, Proveta, Vermelha and Grande de Aracatiba beaches (Southern-western sector), Lagoa Verde and Araca beach (Northern-Western sector); ISA 5, for the beaches Comprida, Crena (northern-eastern sector) and Maguariquecaba (northern-western sector); ISA10, corresponding to the lagoons of the South and East. The beaches analyzed in this study have the following environmental sensitivity results to the pollution caused by oil spill: ESI 3, in the case of the beaches of Lopes Mendes, Santo Antonio and Dois Rios, all located in the southern-eastern sector of the island; ESI 4, to the beaches of Freguesia de Santana, Japariz, Preta, Abraao, Julia, Bica, Crena, Guaxuma, Abraaozinho (in the Eastern-Northern sector), beaches of Mangues and Pouso (sector Southern-eastern), Araca (northern-western sector); and ESI 5, with regard to Comprida (northern sector). The study of the environmental sensitivity of the Ilha Grande, associated with an oil spill, points to the vulnerability of this coast to an eventual disaster of its nature. The expansion of associative activities with oil extraction in the Santos Basin and the associated risks may cause severe damage to fishing and tourism activities in the region and endanger coastal and marine ecosystems. Keywords: environmental sensibility; pollution; oil spills; Ilha Grande-RJ.