This paper presents an analysis of legal aspects of the Brazilian environmental legislation regarding ecological sanctuaries.These are rapidly expanding throughout the country, and there is a lack of a direct reference to them within Brazilian laws..The goal of this research is to outline legal issues regarding their creation, operation and performance within the national framework of environmental protection.Data was gathered using bibliographical, documentary and legislative research.A classification of the categories of use and management of wildlife according to the Normative Instruction of IBAMA n. 07/2015 is compared to the alleged purposes of ecological sanctuaries.The existence of sanctuaries seems to be sustained by the Brazilian legislation, although obliquely and incompletely.Some adjustments seem needed to guarantee the welfare of animals within sanctuaries.