Purpose Megaprojects stimulate and challenge public opinion across countries, generating extensive reactions from citizens. Given their ability to attract public attention, they may also influence public participation in collective choices and political decision-making. These issues are relevant for evaluating projects, but are unfortunately rarely discussed in the managerial literature. This study aims to open up a debate on social issues and how they could be taken into account within management studies. Design/methodology/approach This study carried out a systematic review of the literature on the social impact of megaprojects to identify different research areas related to the evaluation of megaprojects from a social perspective. Findings This study identified three different research areas related to the evaluation of megaprojects from a social perspective: the role of power and social issues; infrastructure and social space; and stakeholder engagement and endorsement. Originality/value This paper underlines the need to go beyond current understanding of the social impacts of megaprojects and calls for a more interdisciplinary research agenda.