SUMMARY
he importance of family businesses in the world is undeniable in various spheres such as economic, political, social and cultural and is thus directly related to the process of transformation of society. This study sought to analyze the articles that were published in the period from 2004 to 2015 and that dealt with the succession process. The choice of the research theme is justified by the fact that the survival of family enterprises has a strong relationship with the succession process, with professionalization of staff, lack of information and conflicts between family members. A bibliometric research was carried out, characterized as exploratory and of mixed methodological profile, composing a portfolio of 73 articles analyzed on the subject; of the analyzed sample 56 are articles published in national journals, and 17 articles of the composite of the Bibliographic Portfolio, were studies coming from Anpad events. The process of succession presents itself as a relevant process for the family business, having a significant power of influence for all the individuals involved, so the need to analyze and understand the whole set of events that involve succession, thus this period can be determinant in the success or failure of this organizational model. The results show that 37.50% of the articles analyzed were published in high impact journals (qualis A2). While the research approaches, 73.97% of studies are qualitative. The research contributed to verify the deficiencies of studies that deal with family succession and succession in family businesses, identifying the importance and representativeness of family businesses for the Brazilian economy, and for all its stakeholders. Therefore, mapped deficiencies may emerge as opportunities for conducting future studies to fill existing theoretical gaps.