Objective: Identify how tobacco use among college students is discussed in the literature. Methods: It was performed a systematic review of January 2004 to December 2013. The survey was conducted in the databases LILACS, MEDLINE and SciELO, using the methodology Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Results: 316 articles were found, 62 met the inclusion criteria, which were most published in Spanish (46.77%). The distribution of publications about the areas of magazines, in national terms, showed that the overall health and medicine had high participation (19.35% both). For international magazines, the area of medicine stood out with 19.35%. Conclusion: There are many studies published in the proposed period that address the same issue from different perspectives; however, studies report differences in consumption of these products with regard to gender, protective factors and those that may predispose the emergence of harmful habits. Hay muchos estudios publicados en el período propuesto que aborda el mismo tema desde diferentes perspectivas; Sin embargo, los estudios informan de diferencias en el consumo de estos productos con respecto al género, los factores de protección y los que pueden predisponer a la aparición de hábitos nocivos. Descriptores: Fumar. Educación universitaria. Salud pública. Economía de la Salud. Descriptors