Background: Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum and is highly lethal in humans and dogs if left untreated. The frequency of this parasite and associated histological changes in the pancreas of dogs are poorly studied. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the frequency of detection and load of amastigotes in the pancreas of L. infantum-seropositive dogs and to identify the clinical signs and histological changes associated with parasitism of this organ. Methods: One hundred forty-three dogs from an endemic area in Brazil that tested seropositive for L. infantum were studied. The dogs were clinically examined, killed, and necropsied between 2013 and 2014. One fragment of the pancreas was randomly collected for histopathology and immunohistochemistry, and spleen and bone marrow were collected for culture. Results: Leishmania amastigotes were detected in the pancreas of 22 dogs (15.4%) by immunohistochemistry, all exhibiting L. infantum parasitism in the spleen and/or bone marrow. Poor body condition and cachexia were only associated with infection of the pancreas with Leishmania spp. (p=0.021) and were found in 40.9% of dogs with pancreatic infection. Anorexia, vomiting, and/or diarrhea were observed in 9.2% of dogs with pancreatitis. The median parasite load in the pancreas was 1.4 infected macrophages/mm2 . Pancreatic histological changes and their frequencies were: granulomatous pancreatitis (28.0%), lymphoplasmacytic pancreatitis (23.8%), acinar cell degenera tion (6.3%), fbrosis (5.6%), hemorrhage (2.1%), eosinophilic pancreatitis (0.7%), suppurative pancreatitis (0.7%), and necrosis (0.7%). Conclusions: The present results demonstrate that L. infantum is one of the etiological agents of chronic pancrea titis in dogs; however, the frequency of detection and parasite load are low in this organ. The lack of an association of poor body condition and cachexia with pancreatitis and the low frequency of clinical signs commonly associated.