Resumo. AIM: To study the distribution, structure, size and density of fish in the karst lake: Lagoa Central (Lagoa Santa, MG - surface area: 1.7 km²; mean depth: 4.0 m; and maximum depth: 7.3 m). METHODS: The hydroacoustic method with vertical beaming was applied, using the echosounder Biosonics DT-X with a split-beam transducer of 200 kHz. The analysis of the acoustic data was performed with the software Visual Analyzer (Biosonics Inc.). Thematic maps of density echoes associated with fish, estimated by the technique of echo-integration, were made using the kriging interpolation. The density and vertical distribution of insonified fish were estimated using the technique of echo-counting. RESULTS: The lake had a mean density of 0.89 echoes associated with fish per m², showing large spatial variations in the density of fish. The size estimated for the echoes associated with fish range from 2.7 to 15.9 cm (mean = 5.3 cm). CONCLUSIONS: The use of hydroacoustic to obtain rapid and realistic estimates of fish abundance and vertical distribution of the fish stock was successful