The study on the influence of temperature variations on rock materials has several applications in the field of engineering. Industries such as oil, nuclear and geothermal are in constant contact with these effects and often in high temperature environments. On the other hand, not only high temperatures can influence the mechanical behavior of the rocky material, the temperature variation during the day,over the years, generates permanent deformations in the rocks. Several authors have already linked this mechanism of slow mechanical degradation of rock material with falling blocks in which the expansion and contraction of minerals in the rock generate repeated variations in stresses that lead to permanent damage to the material. This dissertation intends to increase the number of data and to understand better about this mechanism. For this, a long campaign of temperature cycling in awater bath was carried out. Samples of syenogranites, an intrusive igneous rock similar to those found in the rock slopes of Rio de Janeiro, were used for the tests.For the mechanical characterization of the material, ultrasonic tests, uniaxial compression, indirect traction and sclerometer tests were performed. The physical characterization of the material was also carried out to obtain porosity and specific weight parameters. All tests were performed on both cycled and non-cycled samples. Petrographic analyses were also included for mineralogical description,and quantify cracking in these samples. The results demonstrated that the cycled samples showed a reduction in the mechanical parameters with the increase in the number of cycles indicating permanent damage, while the petrographic analysis indicates that this mechanism acts preferentially on pre-existing lines of weakness.