Leishmaniasis is one of the nine most important tropical diseases worldwide, due to its morbidity and mortality. With 1.5 to 2 million new cases per year, it is considered a serious public health problem worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO), in the strategic emphasis matrix of the Tropical Disease Research program, has classified leishmaniasis in category I as an emerging and uncontrolled disease. Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic and vector-borne disease with a transmission cycle involving a great diversity of reservoirs and vectors. They are caused by different species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania and are transmitted to animals and humans through the bite of insects of the family Psychodidae. Their presence is directly linked to poverty, but other social factors, in addition to environmental and climatic ones, directly influence their epidemiology. the great importance of zoonoses in public health places the veterinarian in an important role in the investigation of emerging and re-emerging diseases, the establishment of surveillance programs in animal populations, the reduction, monitoring and control of these diseases; Zoonoses involve bacteria (salmonellosis, plague, anthrax and leptospirosis), parasites (taeniasis, hydatidosis and toxoplasmosis), viruses (rabies, Japanese encephalitis, avian influenza, Nipah, severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] and avian influenza) and non-conventional agents (bovine spongiform encephalopathy); lesihmaniasis being a zoonotic disease that can affect large populations. There are three different clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis: cutaneous, mucosal and visceral. In Latin America, including Colombia, there are cases of all three clinical forms of the disease. Given the importance of leishmaniasis, this paper reviews the epidemiological situation of the parasitosis, the characteristic cycles of transmission and the control measures available to reduce its impact on susceptible populations.