This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of the literature on scientific production involving the recognition of emotions. The search for articles indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Latin American Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (Medline) and the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations was carried out (BDTD), with the keywords "Facial recognition" and "emotion" together with Boolean descriptors. Of the total of 107 articles, 71 met the inclusion criteria. There was an increase in research on emotions, with greater production related to the theme in the year 2013. Regarding the methodologies used in the studies, 19 different types of instruments were identified to assess the recognition of emotions in facial expressions. It was concluded that there is a need for research to deepen evaluation methods involving this theme to standardize tests to evaluate this domain in an ecological way.