Knowledge with regards to lymph node status is essential in the management of women with cervical cancer. Identifying women in whom lymphadenectomy can be safely avoided will result in less morbidity without compromising overall and disease free survival. Data is limited with regards to the role of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping in cervical cancer patients in low resource setting where the prevalence of HIV and other gynaecological infections are high. A prospective cohort study in a referral hospital in Pretoria was performed. Sentinel lymph node mapping was performed on 20 patients with a combination of blue dye and a radioactive tracer. The HIV prevalence was 50%. 13 of the patients had a successful mapping, with 9 of patients having bilateral SLN mapping. Possible reasons for a low mapping rate could be the high rate of HIV, pelvic adhesion secondary to previous infections and enlarged lymph nodes.