To characterize maternal deaths in the department of Santander, Colombia, and the delays that contributed to these deaths during the period 2012-2015, through a systematic review of health care, in order to offer an input that allows proposing actions that contribute to reduce these fatal outcomes.Descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study that determines the characteristics of maternal mortality in pregnant or postpartum women who were administered complete analysis units and whose death was not caused by external or violent causes.The most frequent delay in the 49 cases of maternal deaths was type IV, which refers to the delay in receiving adequate and timely medical treatment (87.8%), mainly due to deficiencies in promotion and prevention strategies (63.2%). The majority of the deaths were avoidable (61.2%) in the puerperium (84%), and in users of the subsidized insurance scheme (57.1%).Although 98% of mothers were affiliated to the health system (subsidized, contributory, special or exceptional schemes), it was possible to demonstrate that women who were affiliated to the subsidized regime showed a greater frequency of the event, which reflects that there are important opportunities for improvement in the care provided to pregnant women in this type of scheme.