A historical review from the mid nineteenth century to 2013 which includes information on the taxonomy and distribution of fishes in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia was carried out. In addition, the species originally described from this area are listed and clarifications for some type localities are introduced. Ichthyological history in Antioquia, shows the historical lack of an initiative trying to have a systematically study of the fish species richness in the department. Likewise, due to the important findings of environmental impact studies affecting the fishes of Antioquia in the last decade, it is suggested that environmental authorities must demand the publication of those results in open access indexed journals.