BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Brazil, especially among the elderly. In the city of Rio de Janeiro (RJC), ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the predominant cause of mortality. Studies show an association between the process of urbanization, socioeconomic conditions and changes in lifestyle with the occurrence of IHD. OBJECTIVE: To describe the geographical distribution of the IHD mortality rates in the elderly of RJC in 2000 and its correlation with socioeconomic variables. METHODS: This was an ecological study with a spatial analysis of the distribution of the IHD mortality rates in the elderly residing in RJC in 2000, standardized by gender and age, and its correlation with socioeconomic variables from the demographic census. RESULTS: There were no strong correlations between the socioeconomic variables and IHD mortality in the elderly in the districts. Some correlations, albeit weak, showed an association between higher socioeconomic status and higher mortality. After correcting the IHD mortality rate by adding ill-defined causes (IDC) of death, an association between low socioeconomic status and higher mortality from IHD was observed. The study showed spatial dependence for socioeconomic variables, but not for mortality from IHD. CONCLUSION: The spatial dependence observed in economic variables shows that the urban space in MRJ, although heterogeneous, has a certain amount of discrimination in the districts. Some correlations between IHD and socioeconomic variables were opposite to those found in the literature, and this may be partly related to the proportion of IDC, or to the exclusive profile of this age group.