Abstract.We study the properties of integral submanifolds of the contact distribution of an r-contact manifold. In particular we find relations between them, rcontactomorphisms and r-contact vector fields, and we find some results for integral submanifolds of defined by {771 = 0,..., r} r = 0} -the contact distribution of (M 2n+r , 771,..., r]r) -is as far from being integrable as possible. An integral submanifold of (the contact distribution of) M 2n+r is by definition a submanifold M s of M 2n+r such that any vector tangent to M s belongs to the distribution V. In this case s < n and when s -n the n-dimensional integral submanifold in question is called a Legendrian submanifold.In this work we find some properties of integral submanifolds and relate them with r-contactomorphisms and r-contact vector fields. Some of these properties are a consequence of a Darboux theorem for r-contact manifold, which we prove in §2. Next, we study the immersion of integral submanifolds into the ambient space endowed with a compatible metric /-structure. In particular, we concentrate our attention on Legendrian submanifolds of «S-space forms, finding conditions -in terms of sectional curvature, Ricci curvature or scalar curvature -which ensure that a minimal Legendrian submanifold of an 5-space form is totally geodesic.1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: 53C12, 53C15.