  Deep and extensive CCD photometric observations $UBV(RI)_{C}H_{\alpha}$ were
carried out in the area of the open cluster NGC 3293. The new data set allows
to see the entire cluster sequence down to $M_{V} \approx +4.5$, revealing that
stars with $M_{V} < -2$ are evolving off the main sequence; stars with $-2 <
M_{V} < +2$ are located on the main sequence and stars with $M_{V} > +2$ are
placed above it. According to our analysis, the cluster distance is $d = 2750
\pm 250 pc$ ($V_{0}-M_{V} = 12.2 \pm 0.2$) and its nuclear age is $8 \pm 1
Myr$. NGC 3293 contains an important fraction of pre--main sequence (PMS) stars
distributed along a parallel band to the ZAMS with masses from 1 to $2.5 \cal
M_{\sun}$ and a mean contraction age of $10 Myr$. This last value does not
differ too much from the nuclear age estimate. Actually, if we take into
account the many factors that may affect the PMS star positions onto the
colour--magnitude diagram, both ages can be perfectly reconciled. The star
formation rate, on the other hand, suggests that NGC 3293 stars formed surely
in one single event, therefore favouring a coeval process of star formation.
Besides, using the $H_{\alpha}$ data, we detected nineteen stars with signs of
having $H_{\alpha}$ emission in the region of NGC 3293, giving another
indication that the star formation process is still active in the region. The
computed initial mass function for the cluster has a slope value $x = 1.2 \pm
0.2$, a bit flatter than the typical slope for field stars and similar to the
values found for other young open clusters.
