Abstract The dispersal centers of the Amazonian acridid arboreal fauna are defined on the basis of the study of the subfamilies Bactrophorinae and Proctolabinae. Four dispersal centers are revealed which correspond to the main centers proposed by Müller (1973) and Haffer (1979). The ecological characteristics of their fauna and the relations between the centers are tentatively approached through the study of some polycentric distribution patterns (Ommatolampinae, Proctolabinae) as well as through the more restricted relations between the Amazonian centers and the Atlantic Forest.