Family firms make a significant contribution to wealth creation. Despite the proliferation of
large corporations, the model remains in place. The peculiarities of the company-family relationship
mean that these organizations are managed in a particular way and di erently from those with a
non-family composition. In recent decades, the literature on family firms has been considerable,
but research related to the sustainability of this type of business is in the development phase and
shows little maturity. This paper analyses the content of publications that set the trend in research on
the sustainability of family firms. Bibliometric techniques are used to obtain the sample (135 docs.) of
journals indexed in Web of Science (WoS) between the dates 2003 and 2019. The results suggest that
the interest in sustainability in family firms is still relatively recent, barely a decade old. The most
central theme has been Socioemotional-Wealth. The analysis of content points mainly to the process
of intergenerational succession as a critical factor. As non-economic aspects, those that promote
sustainability through the e ects of emotional wealth, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Human
Resources practices stand out. Finally, the economic aspects that would a ect sustainability are
related to performance and have to do with the change of organizational culture adapted to business
orientation, intergenerational knowledge transfer, investment in innovation, or internationalization
strategies. This work sheds light on what aspects are being researched in relation to sustainability
in family firms and can serve as guidance for future work in this field of research, as well as for
managers in the decision-making process
