Data related to 15 short tandem repeat polymorphisms (STRPs) are reported for five Brazilian Indian populations, and a set of them compared with results previously reported for Asian, neo-Brazilian, North American, Iberian, and African populations. The low variability observed for these markers among the Suruí Indians is confirmed, but the other populations show variability levels that are similar to those found elsewhere. Previous suggestions of population bottlenecks in the prehistorical colonization of the New World were not confirmed. On the other hand, STRPs again showed to be good markers for the establishment of population relationships.