Emotional dependency is considered as a need for affection from an external person to feel valued, sometimes becoming a maladaptive pattern. On the other hand, it is also linked to violence during a relationship. Objective. To review descriptive literature on emotional dependence with physical violence, psychological and sexual violence, and the psychodynamics of couples through a descriptive literature review. Method. It was a qualitative study of descriptive review of the literature. A search was made in three electronic databases, ScienceDirect, SciELO, Directory of Open Access Journals, and a total of 15 original scientific articles were worked on. Results. Literature indicates that there is significance among people who are emotionally dependent on their partner with the presence of physical violence, psychological or sexual violence within a relationship. Therefore, the affected pe...