Prevalence of anemia and associated factors were analyzed in mothers (n = 1,022) and their children under 5 years of age (n = 1,242) in Pernambuco State, Brazil, 2006. This was a cross-sectional population-based study with a probabilistic sample in an urban and rural area. Anemia was diagnosed by hemoglobin level (children < 11.0 g/dL, women < 12.0 g/dL) using HemoCue. Univariate and multivariate analyses used Poisson regression with robust adjustment of standard error, adopting a hierarchical model for determination in children with anemia as the outcome. This same procedure was not applied to mothers because of the small number of associated factors in the univariate analyses. Anemia prevalence was 16.4% in mothers and 34.4% in children. Anemic as compared to non-anemic mothers showed a prevalence ratio of 1.44 (95%CI: 1.21-1.72) for anemia in their children, maintaining similar values in the adjusted model (PR = 1.39: 95%CI: 1.16-1.66). Anemia prevalence in children was double that of mothers, with the final model showing only one common factor: per capita family income.