In this article I present an overview of the reception of Frankfurt School Critical Theory in Brazil, contextualized historically from its origins to teh present. I begin with a brief chronological account of its reception in the 1960s and 70 s (Part 1), before moving to a broad overview focused on fundamental authors who figured in Brazilian discussions during the phase in which critical theory was consolidated, between the 1980s and 2000 (Part 2). The article ends with an analysis of the presence of critical theory in Brazil since 2000 (Part 3). My aim is to offer a panorama of the presence of critical theory in the country that, though quite broad, does not claim to be exhaustive.