This research was carried out under the modality of the state of the art with the objective of studying executive functions and investigative competences, in students of higher education programs in national and international universities, based on the review of literature produced in the period covered. between 2018 and 2022, with the purpose of finding the state of knowledge and identifying trends and gaps in documentary production. The study is justified in response to the research line of the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia called: teaching and learning strategies, subline: learning processes, theme: learning difficulties. The methodology is located in the interpretive paradigm, it uses the methods associated with heuristics and hermeneutics, it has a qualitative approach with prevalence in the qualitative cut, it uses the inductive method, it is a kind exploratory and descriptive. The design is non-experimental, it uses documental design research techniques, the sample for the state of the art is 46 publications, and it makes use of different instruments for the picking, selection, and analysis of information such as tables, graphs, and matrices. Results are presented with respect to he level at which the executive functions and investigative skills of higher education students are found, according to the studies carried out by the authors. In sum, relevant findings, research trends, emerging themes, information gaps are exposed, and recommendations addressed to the different interest groups are derived.