Cow pea vean (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) has traditionally been an important crop for smallholder farmers, and in many cases is the main source of low-cost dietary plant protein and minerals compared to animal products such as meat, fi sh, and egg. Th e inoculation of rhizobia in cowpeas is a promising technology to improve production. In this work, the importance of growth-promoting bacteria in cowpea beans was evaluated through a literature review, to improve the performance of the production system in the diff erent stages of the crop. A search of bibliographic information has been carried out for the preparation of this literature review using scientifi c information published from 1982 to the present, totaling 67 documents (books, book chapters, scientifi c articles, among others) written in diff erent languages such as Spanish, English and Portuguese, included in the Scopus, Web o...