The purpose of this review article is to reflect on the state of the art as a methodological tool, describe its meaning, present its objectives, present notes for its elaboration, propose a structure and finally present an example of construction. The methodology of the text is oriented, from the parameters of the interpretive paradigm and the use of the hermeneutic method to understand and interpret the arguments proposed by Bojacá (2004), Jiménez (2006), Baeza (2008), Guevara (2016), Saldarriaga (2019), Duque (2021), Rivas (2023), among other authors, who conceptualize and theorize about the state of the art as a methodological instrument. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52783/rlj.v12i1.3931