Abstract Using an updated checklist of the Agrilus species of South America, it is analyzed the status of knowledge of the Agrilus fauna for each country on the continent. When the geographical extent of each country and the number of known species are considered, a great disparity of knowledge emerges, with some countries (e.g., French Guyana) being relatively well investigated and others (e.g., Ecuador, Peru, Colombia) for which the state of knowledge is still embryonic. It is therefore reasonable to expect the number of known species will increase greatly as further research is conducted, especially in the latter countries.