Resumo. This study aims at making a comparative study of the biotechnical characteristics of Sebastiania schottiana (Müll. Arg.) Müll. Arg., Phyllanthus sellowianus (Klotzscg) Müll. Arg., Salix humboldtiana Willd., and Salix x rubens Shrank. These species have, in previous studies, shown promising potentialities for slope stabilization and restoration of riverbanks. The experiment was installed in the banks of a creek in 2008, in São João do Polêsine, in Rio Grande do Sul state. The variables analyzed were: survival rate in the field (%), number, diameter, length, and the sum of primary shoots, length of the longest primary bud, number and length of the secondary shoots and the sum of the length of the secondary shoots. Among the analyzed species, Phyllanthus sellowianus showed the best results for the five characteristics evaluated, suggesting that it is the most suitable species for the stabilization and the recovery of riverbanks in this region, among the studied species.