El objetivo del presente articulo de revision documental consistio en establecer el origen de los estudios sobre la empresa familiar y su evolucion hasta el presente. Estos han tenido un tratamiento interdisciplinario y se han orientado desde diferentes enfoques. En Latinoamerica, los primeros programas de formacion en empresas familiares empiezan en la decada de los ochenta, y en los ultimos treinta anos aparecen en catorce instituciones universitarias. La metodologia utilizada es el analisis de contenido, con un enfoque cualitativo. El tipo de revision es descriptiva y la estrategia de busqueda de documentos, se realizo en varias etapas: Indagacion de bibliografias, organizacion de informacion y redaccion del articulo. Esta revision bibliografica concluye que el origen de los estudios sobre la empresa familiar esta en la decada de los anos cincuenta del pasado siglo. En todos los paises, tales estudios han tenido un tratamiento interdisciplinario, presentandose definiciones en forma de mono-criterio y de multi-criterio, con diferentes dimensiones. Finalmente, en el estudio se identifica la taxonomia de las empresas familiares, se analizan seis modelos y se determinan los ciclos por los que atraviesan. Con todo ello se pretenden explicar las crisis que afectan a las empresas familiares y se describen las caracteristicas mas importantes de este tipo de empresas en cada ciclo. Abstract This review article aims to establish the origin of family business studies and its evolution until the present time; they have had an interdisciplinary management, and have been oriented from different approaches. . In Latin America, the first training programs for family businesses started in the eighties, and in the last thirty years they have been included in the academic programs of fourteen higher education institutions. The content analysis was the methodology used, along with a qualitative approach and a descriptive review; as well as a search strategy for documents, which was carried out in the following stages: bibliographic search, organization of the information and drafting of the article. In this bibliographic review it is concluded that family business studies arose in the half of the twentieth century. In all countries, the aforementioned studies have had an interdisciplinary treatment, with definitions of single and multi-criteria in different dimensions. Finally, the taxonomy of family businesses is identified using six different models and establishing the stages in the process. The overall goals are to explain the crisis which affects family businesses, and to describe the main characteristics of this type of business in each stage.