In Chile, incentives have been created during the past years for the installation of non-conventional renewable energy plants (NCRE). It is within this context that wave energy can be transformed into a feasible alternative for electrical power generation in the near future within the country. This work corresponds to the first approach to quantify the wave energy resources in Chile based in a technically superior manner. The first step in the assessment of a wave energy plant is to quantify the available resources, therefore the wave climate was obtained for various sites along the Chilean coastline and a deterministic assessment was made of the power of the waves and their main characteristics, especially the variability under different time horizons. In order to convert the mechanical energy of the waves into electrical power, an assessment was made of various offshore devices existing on the market. An estimate was made of the output power of these conversion devices based on the wave climate and on the energy conversion matrixes that define them, performing an analysis that is completely analogue to that of wave power. Waves in the Chilean coast arrive year in and year out with scarce variation during the various seasons, are very regular, with low directional dispersion and high periods. This determines the low seasonal variability of the power and the high capacity factors that conversion devices can develop. The characteristics of waves in Chile are due mainly to the presence of swell usually found in great oceans, which makes Chilean territory one of the most appropriate sites in the world for the generation of electrical power with energy from the waves.