Manufacturing flexibility has been considered one of the most important competitive advantages to the firms nowadays. As the effective use of manufacturing flexibility can influence the competitive level of a firm, this study aims to observe how this important factor has been perceived and used by managers of small enterprises. Initially, a literature review is developed in order to define a consistent and updated view of some aspects of manufacturing flexibility such as definition and conceptualization, classification and relationship between dimensions, measurement and operationalization. Then, based on a field work involving five small enterprises, some patterns related to the competitive environment, to management priorities and to the importance of ten manufacturing flexibility dimensions are identified and show the managers` perspective about these questions in the manufacturing flexibility context.