PurposeThis research analyzes the current knowledge regarding the use of maturity models (MMs) in SSCM, aiming to identify the main characteristics, trends and research gaps on the subject. Facing the growing interest in carrying out studies directed at sustainability, to the detriment of more prescient environmental and social impacts and the need to consolidate the concepts present in the literature regarding the SSCM, an absence of similar studies in the current literature was found. The authors have selected articles to compose a database that allows users to analyze and classify publications on MMs in SSCM, being those subdivided into 7 categories: focus, methodology, analyzed sector, sustainable practices, dimensions of sustainable development, type of MM and model/framework validation method.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this purpose, a literature systematization was conducted by searching publications using defined keywords in two databases and following a process of classification. The systematic process has five steps, from the selection of databases to the filtering of publications, review of information and analysis of the sample.FindingsThe topic under study is promising, with a few publications dealing with it, mainly in Brazil, and there is a trend to exploit more of the area in future research.Originality/valueThis research provides a detailed analysis of an emerging theme, divided into seven thematic categories. Results demonstrate that the topic is still underexplored, indicating an important research gap to be filled.