In the last two decades Brazil has been the scene of several mega-sports events, putting it in evidence in the international scenario and culminating with the Rio 2016 Olympics. The methodology of this article is designed in the form of a systematic review. Thus, the question that guided this systematic review refers to the identification of central themes that guided the academic debate on legacies of sports mega-events, and the possibility to observe the variables. Through the systematic review technique, it was concluded, after reading and analyzing the selected articles, that these are the possibilities and dominant themes in the debate on legacies: multidisciplinarity, education, public health, inclusion, politics, social conflicts and environmental rights.