This article aims to present a literature review on financial contagion, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective, with special attention to the cases of emerging markets. It is found that the definition of financial contagion is a concept under construction and there is no concession regarding it. In turn, the theoretical literature seeks to explain this phenomenon through real, financial transmission channels and behaviors of investors and economic policymakers. In contrast, the empirical literature has evolved through two generations, which have advanced in the measurement of this phenomenon