BackgroundPatients with COVID-19 have a high incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is associated with mortality. The objective of the study was to determine the factors associated with AKI in patients with COVID-19.MethodologyA retrospective cohort was established in two university hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia. Adults hospitalized for more than 48 h from March 6, 2020, to March 31, 2021, with confirmed COVID-19 were included. The main outcome was to determine the factors associated with AKI in patients with COVID-19 and the secondary outcome was estimate the incidence of AKI during the 28 days following hospital admission.ResultsA total of 1584 patients were included: 60.4% were men, 738 (46.5%) developed AKI, 23.6% were classified as KDIGO 3, and 11.1% had renal replacement therapy. The risk factors for developing AKI during hospitalization were male sex (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.73–2.99), age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01–1.03), history of chronic kidney disease (CKD) (OR 3.61, 95% CI 2.03–6.42), High Blood Pressure (HBP) (OR 6.51, 95% CI 2.10–20.2), higher qSOFA score to the admission (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.14–1.71), the use of vancomycin (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.05–2.37), piperacillin/tazobactam (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.2–2.31), and vasopressor support (CI 2.39, 95% CI 1.53–3.74). The gross hospital mortality for AKI was 45.5% versus 11.7% without AKI.ConclusionsThis cohort showed that male sex, age, history of HBP and CKD, presentation with elevated qSOFA, in-hospital use of nephrotoxic drugs and the requirement for vasopressor support were the main risk factors for developing AKI in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12882-023-03172-8.