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Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum in Brazil. It is a chronic disease and often a fatal zoonosis and considered as a serious worldwide public health problem and recognized by the World Health Organization as one of seventeen "Neglected Tropical Diseases". This study was conducted in 2012 in the county of Patos, in Paraiba State semiarid region. The main purposes were to estimate the prevalence and the risk factors of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), and to evaluate the performance of serological tests. Serological prevalence was determined using three techniques (ELISA, IFA and DPP chromatographic immunoassay - Dual Path Platform). ELISA was the golden standard, since it is the confirmatory test for CVL as established by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. In total, 362 blood samples were collected and were considered positive if positive by two serological assays. Positive samples were tested by PCR and qPCR. An epidemiological questionnaire was applied to the dog owner to identify risk factors associated with CVL. The seroprevalence was 11.33% (41/362). Chromatographic immunoassay - DPP showed a sensitivity of 58% (95%, CI: 0.43 to 0.72) and specificity of 96% (95%, CI: 0.93-0.98), with a Kappa index of 0.5. The IFA had a sensitivity of 85% (95%, CI: 0.72 to 0.94), specificity of 99% (95%, CI: 0.98 to 1) and Kappa value of 0.8. The risk factor identified in the multivariate analysis was gender (OR=2.15 [1.09 to 4.21]), male dogs having 2.15 times more chance of being infected. The increased likelihood can possibly be explained by the use of male dogs for hunting and as guard dogs, two factors that increase dog contact to infected sandflies. Due to the prevalence rates, it should be recommended control measures against canine visceral leishmaniasis. The results demonstrated that the Chromatographic immunoassay (DPP-Dual Path Platform) is not the best technique for screening positive animals due to its low sensitivity, suggesting its replacement by ELISA.