The Azores region seismicity recorded in 2002 was marked by the occurrence of some seismic crises in addition to the usual regional activity. During that period almost 4000 seismic events were recorded in the database of the Azores Seismological Surveillance System (SIVISA). The magnitude of the events varied from 0,8 to 5,3 (ML magnitude). The analysis of the epicentres map for 2002 shows two main alignments defined by the located events: one with a NW-SE general trend coincides with the geographic position of the islands from the Central and Oriental Groups; the second one, roughly trending NNE-SSW, is parallel to the segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that crosses the Azores Platform halfway between Faial and Flores Islands. The majority of the most energetic earthquakes occurred in the later sector, with ML magnitudes ranging from 3,0 to 4,6.