The participation of Brazil in the OTI Festival first began at the inaugural OTI Festival in 1972 held in Madrid. Rede Tupi, Rede Globo, and Rede Record, members of the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), were successively responsible for the Brazilian participation. Brazil participated in the event intermittently from the start of the event until 1995.
Brazil withdrew from the event in 1985 and 1986 and returned in 1987. It withdrew again from 1988 to 1992. One year later, it made a brief return to the event until 1995. From 1996 on, Brazil retired definitively from the event.
The Brazilian OTI contestants were internally selected. Brazil was one of the most successful participating countries in the festival with three victories: The first of those victories came in 1972 in the first edition of the festival with the song "Diálogo" sung by Cláudia Regina and Tobias. The second Brazilian victory came in 1978 in Santiago de Chile with the song "El amor... cosa tan rara", which was performed in Spanish by . The third and last victory of Brazil took place in Washington D.C. in 1983 with the song "Estrela de papel" sung by Jessé. In total, Brazil managed to reach ten times the top 10.[1]
Brazil hosted the OTI Festival in 1973, after winning the song contest the previous year, according to the original rules. The festival was held in the in Belo Horizonte. The stage of the festival had soft colors, a background zone for the orchestra and a central platform where the performers competed and the event was presented by Walter Forster and . The event was hosted by Rede Tupi's affiliate TV Itacolomi.
| + Table key | ||
| 1 | First place | |
| 2 | Second place |
| Year | Artist | Song | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Cláudia Regina and Tobias | "Diálogo" | 1 | 13 |
| 1973 | Nadinho da Ilha | "Baianero" | 4 | 7 |
| 1974 | Agnaldo Rayol | "Porqué" | 18 | 0 |
| 1975 | Raphael | "Desejo" | 8 | 4 |
| 1976 | "Maria de las flores" | 4 | 9 | |
| 1977 | Lolita Rodrigues | "Pedindo amor" | 17 | 0 |
| 1978 | Denisse de Kalafe | "El amor... cosa tan rara" | 1 | 51 |
| 1979 | Miltinho | "Conselho" | 5 | 21 |
| 1980 | Marcia | "Convite ao vento" | 4 | 29 |
| 1981 | Claudia | "Renascenza" | 10 | 14 |
| 1982 | Julio Cézar | "Un canto a los niños" | 10 | 15 |
| 1983 | Jessé | "Estrela de papel" | 1 | 71 |
| 1984 | "Barcas perdidas" | – | – | |
| colspan="5" | ||||
| 1987 | Leila Pinheiro | "Estrela do norte" | – | – |
| colspan="5" | ||||
| 1993 | Emílio Santiago | "Essa fase do amor" | 2 | – |
| 1994 | Zé Renato | "Mulher" | 11 | 0 |
| 1995 | Beto Surian | "Onde está você" | – | – |