The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire population worldwide, defined by the World Health Organization as an "infectious disease" caused by a new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has managed to spread unexpectedly, causing high morbidity and mortality rates and negatively impacting multiple aspects of human life, not only physical health but also mental health; In this regard, psychosocial factors such as fear, depression, stress and anxiety are common manifestations in any situation that puts the life of the individual at risk, since, according to the National Survey of Mental Health, 18% of the population between 15 and 64 years of age suffers from some mood disorder. In view of this, the objective of this article is to carry out a literature review on the affectations that the world population has suffered as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, on fear, which is an experience that produces an unstable emotional effect derived from the valuation of a potentially dangerous situation and that one has no control over it, as well as on its affectations that the world population has suffered as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.