OBJECTIVES: To summarize rates of prevalence, incidence and types of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Latin America. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, Scielo and LILACS using key words “multiple sclerosis” and “esclerosis múltiple”, plus “Latin America” and all country names.  Accepted were full articles or abstracts reporting original research in any language at any time, with MS diagnosed using any acceptable criteria. Clinically isolated syndrome was excluded. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: MS prevalence and incidence rates vary widely in Latin America in a low to medium range, but are increasing as reported in the reviewed studies. Information is scant with many gaps. More research is needed to provide a basis for decision making and budget allocation.