The Selecao youths, who put in one of their most scintillating displays in the tournament, scored three goals in a devastating nine-minute spell in the first half to go through.
Alan Kardec opened the scoring on 22 minutes when he raced onto a through pass from Paulo Henrique and beat the keeper with a low right-footed shot.
Alex Teixeira doubled Brazil's lead two minutes later when his shot found the roof of the net after a pull-back from right-back Douglas.
He notched his second of the night in the 31st minute in a brilliant fashion to ensure Brazil's progress.
The Vasco da Gama man skipped past Marcelo Silva and curled a superb shot into the far top corner from inside the area.
Jonathan Urretaviscaya narrowed the gap nine minutes before the break but Uruguay failed to build on their only goal.
Brazil will face Germany, who snatched a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Nigeria later in the day, in the quarter final.