Nowadays the understanding of parks as important elements for quality and social life in large cities is relevant, because of the different they provide to society such as thermal comfort, carbon dioxide absorption and control noise and air pollution, protection of water resources, among others. The offered by parks provide the welfare for population; they are spaces for leisure and sports activities; besides having their relevance for the study and conservation of nature. This study aimed to conduct a literature review on the study, contributions and importance of in areas; to achieve this, scientific articles from the Web of Science database, over the past 12 years (2003-2015) were consulted, using the following keywords (in English): ecosystem services and urban areas, ecosystem services and urban park, environmental services and urban park, environmental services and city. Few studies on are made in cities, mostly in natural or rural areas. The main contributions found in scientific papers highlight: studies related to characterization of biodiversity, maintenance of river sources, carbon storage, and carbon dioxide absorption, increased permeability of the soil, planning and sustainability, payments for services, valuing landscape and cultural cities, and quality of life of population. In conclusion, it is necessary to increase efforts for a better understanding of the dynamics of ecosystems and their to support better planning strategies with sustainability criteria.