The present study discusses the place of research in the initial education of science teachers. The issue is analyzed in two levels: the first verifies how research is treated in the Biological Sciences major at Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) from its curriculum reformulation in 2000. For this purpose, a documental analysis and inquiries with professors and students from the course are used. The second level analyzes some scholars’ thoughts in the Education in Sciences field in Brazil about the importance of research in the future science teachers’ education. The study aims to confront ideas based on the literature about the issue and on the practice in a teacher education major as well as ideas from researchers on science teaching in the country. The theories that guide the study are related to the reflexive teaching practice paradigm. The collected data in the two levels of investigation show research as important to understand the future teachers’ knowledge production process. The collected information also demonstrated that there is still a certain uncertainty about the role oh research in the education of future science education. The curriculum project analysis and the teachers’ speeches showed a major concern with teachers’ preparation for research in the Biological Sciences area. The thought of the majority of the scholars considered that the future teacher should have an adequate preparation in different kinds of researches, especially those related to the school context. The study noticed the necessity of overcoming the dichotomy between the scientific and the education research.