This paper presents a review on real-time simulators and their use applied to power systems in Brazil. The review comprises most of the current research made in institutions/enterprises that own real-time simulators as well as the application trends of related technologies, considering both conferences and journals published papers. It is observed that several Brazilian universities have simulators in real-time and that the publications in journals have been increased, which shows that the learning curve of the Brazilian research institutions has led to an improvement in the quality of the publications. It is also important to emphasize that the analysis of real systems in most publications indicates a trend and a demand for studies with simulators in real time, to solve problems of companies of the electric sector. Related with works that use real systems in their simulations, several publications were generated in the context of R&D projects. This shows that real-time simulators are very relevant tools for studies on power systems of companies in the electricity sector, aligning scientific research and the provision of highly specialized services.