RESUMOO presente artigo objetivou mapear e descrever os estudos de evidências de validade e precisão de instrumentos para avaliação de ansiedade no contexto das competições esportivas. ABSTRACT -Psychometric studies on anxiety instruments in the sporting context: a systematic review This article aimed to map and describe scientific studies on the evidences of validity of instruments to assess anxiety within the context of sporting competitions. Studies in full text and with no restrictions regarding its year of publication or language were retrieved. Data were collected from ScienceDirect, PubMed, BVS-Psi, Taylor & Francis, APA, SciELO, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science, by using the descriptors [anxiety AND sport AND (validity OR reliability OR measure OR instrument OR scale OR psychometrics)], in English and Portuguese. After applying the exclusion criteria and excluding duplicated studies, 16 articles remained for review. The reviewed studies have mainly used validity evidence based on the instrument's internal consistency, with the application of factor analysis. Of the total studies reviewed, only four gathered evidence of validity based on the instrument's content, while eight studies were based on evidence in relation to other variables. It is necessary to improve the studies regarding the diversity of sources of evidences, and to provide the rationale used for the decision-making process of the procedures and results.