The 16th Central American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio de Atletismo del Instituto Nicaragüense de Deportes in Managua, Nicaragua, between September 25–26, 2004.

A total of 42 events were contested, 22 by men and 20 by women.

A total of 9 championships records were set.

[1] Complete results and medal winners were published.

[2][3][4] *   Host nation (Nicaragua)A total of 183 athletes from 7 countries were reported to participate:[5] †: There is a slight difference in silver medals between a published medal table[5] and the unofficial medal count above.