The purpose of this article was to realize a narrative review of the relation between the family system and the criminal conduct of adolescents. There were used the data bases: SciELO; LILACS; BVS; PePSIC; PsycNET; APA PsycNET; Science Direct and Web of knowledge (ISI). The search resulted on 19 articles that complied the inclusion criteria. The articles’ analysis showed that some family factors are commonly found associated with law infraction and fulfi llment of social educative freedom restriction measures by the adolescents. They are: socioeconomics level, family structure, domestic violence; educational practices and parental control, the frailty of family bonds, family members in confl ict with the law, and biologic factors. So, it could be stated that when the family doesn’t fulfi ll its protective function, it starts to be seen as a risk factor to the well-being of many children and adolescents.