Introduction. Currently, the mixteca oaxaqueña shows a great deterioration of its ecosystems mediated by a continuous caprine overgrazing in vulnerable areas, therefore it is indispensable to understand the grazing habits of caprine. Objective. Identify dietary preferences of goats to manage the conservation of the areas with the greatest deterioration in the region. Methods. The study was carried out in San Marcos Arteaga, Oaxaca. Linear transects in the vegetation and micro-histological analyzes of goat feces collected in summer and dry seasons were performed. Either preference or rejection of each vegetation resource and specie selectivity were estimated using the Savage index (Manly et al., 1993). Results and discussion. A total of 15 species were identified in the goat faeces in summer season, of which eight were identified as “significantly preferred”, six as “indifferent” and one group (grasses) as “significantly rejected”. For the dry season, 12 species were identified, nine were “significantly preferred” and three were “rejected”. The Vachelia pennatula, Mimosa lacerata, Brusera glabrifolia, Bursera copallifera and Ampelodesmus mauritanica species were preferred in both summer and dry seasons. The study shows that the goats browsing is distributed over the majority of shrub species, as usually observed. (Barroso et al., 1995, Luginbuhl and Castagni, 2007). Conclusion. Some species evidenced higher selection and indifference to very abundant species or species with certain characteristics that could make them less palatable were observed.