Objective: identifying the knowledge level of the employees regarding the research policies of mid and high complexity healthcare facilities in the Aburra Valley, Colombia. Methodology: cross-section research, with surveys for 224 employees of the healthcare providing institutions of high (52) and mid (322) complexity, both public and private, in 2011. Results: regarding the knowledge about the existence of research policies, we found that it is higher in the employees of high complexity institutions (p = 0.000). Over 70% of the employees surveyed showed their interest in working on research projects. Conclusion: public high complexity healthcare facilities showed more developments on research and we found great interest of the employees of the health sector on research, regardless of the complexity level, the type of facility, and education level.