Abstract
In Brazil, knowledge on copepods of the order Siphonostomatoida dates back to the late 1800s, with the earliest record concerning parasitic copepods of fish. In contrast, the first record in Brazil of a copepod associated with an unknown marine invertebrate did not appear until 1988, with further studies on this copepod group occurring only during the last 15 years. The aim of this paper is to summarize the knowledge on the diversity of the siphonostome copepods, focusing on the associates of marine invertebrates, and to add new data on the distribution of known species and on the utilization of host species. Finally, an evaluation is carried out on the results and the effort expended during this period, and some objectives are proposed for improving the knowledge of the siphonostome copepods associated with marine invertebrates in Brazil.