Introduction To evaluate the internal quality control indicators and quality management programme in a university cytopathology laboratory. Methods All results of conventional cervical smears tests (taken from the SISCAN, the Brazilian cervical cancer screening system) of women aged ≥15 years at the time of Papanicolaou smear specimen collection during January 2007‐December 2014 were included. The final results of the cytopathology were classified in accordance with the Bethesda System. The variables included in the database were the woman's name, date of birth, and age at the time of sampling (15‐30, 31‐40 and older than 40 years). Results In this period, 50 286 cytopathology examinations were carried out. Of these, 44 386 (91.34%) were negative for malignancy or unsatisfactory and 4209 (8.66%) presented epithelial abnormalities. The percentage of the tests consistent with atypical squamous cells (ASC) between satisfactory examinations was 4.12%; the percentage of tests compatible with ASC among abnormal examinations was 47.87%; the ASC/squamous intraepithelial lesion) ratio was 0.97 and the percentage of high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion among satisfactory tests was 2.21%, and the 5‐year retrospective review identified 4.97% of false‐negative results. Conclusion All rates obtained were consistent over the years and within the recommended values by Federal Regulation of Brazil. This demonstrates the efficacy of our established internal quality monitoring and continuing education, reflecting the commitment of the team involved in the release of smear reports. This is a retrospective and quantitative study, which analyzed the quality indicators of Pap smears in the internal quality monitoring (IQM) of a university cytopathology laboratory. The findings confirmed that the laboratory's established IQM and quality management program is effective.