The aim of this study is to examine the visual elements in social studies textbooks taught in secondary schools in terms of gender roles. In the study, the visual elements in the secondary school social studies textbooks were examined in terms of with whom, in what actions, in which places, in which professions and with what objects adult women and men and girls and boys were shown. The sample of the research includes visual items in the 5, 6, and 7th grade social studies textbooks selected by the Ministry of National Education to be taught in secondary schools in the 2019-2020 academic year. This study is a qualitative study and includes a document analysis technique and a content analysis on the visuals in the social studies textbooks. In the research, it has been determined that the visuals in the secondary school social studies textbooks contain elements based on gender roles. It is seen that textbooks contribute to teaching, reinforcement and reproduction of gender-based roles in this way. The findings reveal that the images of boys and girls and adult women and men in the secondary school social studies textbooks contain gender stereotypes.