Abstract In this paper, we will present an overview of compounding in Catalan, covering the founding theoretical-descriptive studies of the 20th century to the most recent scholarship. Specifically, it analyses the boundaries of compounding, considering the limits which make it possible to distinguish compounding from derivation and free syntagmas. We will also consider the various types of compounding documented in Catalan, as well as the syntactic and semantic relationships between the elements that make up a compound. Finally, we will analyse newly-created compounds that shed light on the productivity of this process of word formation.