Protozoa is the name given to the mainly heterotrophic organisms of the Protist group. This group has unique importance both for science, in studies such as biomonitoring, ecology of communities and ecosystems and pest control, as for some symbiotic relationships and the ecosystems they inhabit, such as soils and aquatic environments. In Brazilian science and biology teaching, this group is commonly taught in the final years of elementary school and later revised in high school, with different approaches. In the present study, thirty-two works were selected (master and graduate thesis, abstracts in annals of academic events, book chapters and scientific papers), in order to analyse how the content of protozoa is transmitted in classroom and how the approach is made facing the main characteristics of the group and its ecological and research importance. It was observed that in elementary school the content was more detailed, talking about morphology and taxonomy of the group, when compared to high school, when works mainly addressed the pathologies that these organisms can cause to humans. On several occasions the practical activities with protozoa were described as pleasurable for students and constructive to their knowledge. It was observed that the organisms were easy to obtain and manipulate, stimulating curiosity through laboratorial experience and promoting teaching not only of protozoa, but of other contents in an integrated way, such as microscopy. It appears that the way we teach this knowledge does not approach scientific advances and main features about these organisms in an effective way, being necessary to search for new ways to transmit this content in Brazil.