Brazil had two goals reversed by video review because of offside calls, one by Gabriel Jesus early in the second half and another by Philippe Coutinho near the end of the match.
Brazil played better than it did in the opener against Bolivia, but it was not able to break through the stout Venezuelan defense at the Arena Fonte Nova.
Despite the setback, the hosts stayed at the top of Group A with four points, tied with Peru, which earlier Tuesday defeated Bolivia 3-1 in Rio de Janeiro. Venezuela, which opened with a 0-0 draw against Peru, has two points.
The group will be decided on Saturday with Brazil facing Peru in Sao Paulo and Bolivia taking on Venezuela in Belo Horizonte. The top two teams in each group advance to the next round, along with the two best third-place finishers.