city, eastern Rio Grande do Sul estado (state), Brazil. It lies along the Sinos River at 85 feet (26 m) above sea level, just north of Porto Alegre, the state capital, and is part of the greater Porto Alegre metropolitan area. The first German colony (1824) established in southern Brazil, it was named after Maria Leopoldina, wife of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, and was elevated to city rank in 1864.

São Leopoldo serves an agricultural region producing potatoes, feijão (beans), corn (maize), rice, pigs, and cattle. It is also industrialized, manufacturing leather products, arms and munitions, aluminum ware, and other items. The University of the Sinos River Valley (1969) is there. Transportation is excellent, for the city is on the São Paulo–Porto Alegre highway and is served by riverboats and a railroad. Pop. (2005 est.) 208,900.