The present work describes the influence of the concrete cover of the longitudinal reinforcement on the bond strength along the overlapping splice zones of compressed elements. Tests have been carried out on eighteen reinforced concrete columns, with cross section of 200 mm x 150 mm and 1100 mm of length. The longitudinal reinforcement consisted of CA-50 steel bars with nominal diameter of 12,5 mm and stirrups of 5 mm. Three series of columns (Serie 1, Serie 2 and Serie 3) were defined according to the arrangements of the longitudinal reinforcement: Series 1 composed by six columns with continuous longitudinal reinforcement; Series 2 and 3 composed by six columns each, presenting an overlapping splice of 470 mm and 235 mm of lenght, respectively. The columns were submited to a load apllied with an eccentricity of 20 mm in the direction of the smallest dimension of the cross section. In each series, the concrete cover varied from 25 mm to a value corresponding to the situation in which half of the diameter of the longitudinal bar was exposed. The results showed that the influence of the concrete cover on the column strength becomes relevant when the ratio c/ Ø of the cover thickness c to the bar diameter Ø is less than 0,4. For columns with overlapping splice and reinforcement exposed up to the half of diameter, the bond along the overlapping zone has been substancially affected, resulting in the column failure at lower loads when compared to columns with proper value of concrete cover.