Abstract
Objective: To organize national and international medico-legal studies on the epidemiology and characterization of injuries in homicide victims, in order to know the epidemiological data already registered on the subject. Bibliographic review: Male individuals aged 20 to 40 years were the majority of homicide victims. Socioeconomic conditions are an important risk factor for homicides. Brazilian studies found that 76.4% of the murdered individuals were economically active and 78.1% had completed high school. Most victims resided in urban areas. There is a relationship between areas of low quality of life and urban violence. As these are the most affected anatomical regions in cases of homicide by firearms, the head, neck and chest region stood out. The analysis of the toxicological findings of the victims found that the most prevalent substances were alcohol, followed by narcotics, cannabis and opiates. The characteristics of the lesions vary in each study, however they also have characteristics that can be generalized. Final considerations: The numbers in this study can serve as a reference for detecting and dealing with public safety issues. The relevance of studies of this nature in the current national reality was considered indisputable.