General features of Cuban mangrove communities are given, taking into account quantitative and qualitative sampling done at nine mangrove sites of the central north and southwest of Cuba. Fourty eight species were collected. The core species (sensu Hanski, 1982) in Cuban mangroves were Dysidea etheria, Tedania ignis, Lissodendoryx isodictyalis, and Scopalina ruetzleri. T. ignis was the most outstanding species in Cuban mangroves and in the two compared mangrove areas of the Wide Caribbean (Bahamas and Venezuela). In sampled sites heterogeneity index ranged from 1.64 to 2.43 nat., and equitability index, from 0.59 to 0.92. The maximum number of species per station was 23. Siltation, shelter against waves, shadow and salinity fluctuations seem to be among the main causes of such variations in the sampled stations and other visited Cuban mangroves.