Background: Burnout syndrome is consequent of prolonged levels of stress in the work’s environment. Objective: The aims of this article are to obtain information about the syndrome’s prevalence in Brazil and in other countries, the risk factors responsible for its development, its association with psychiatric disorders and consequences for the individual and for the organization. Methods: It was carried out a review using database from MedLine, Scielo, American Psychiatry Association, Evidence-Based Mental Health, American College of Physicians, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Guideline Clearinghouse and from World Health Organization, between 1985 and 2006. Conclusion: The prevalence is still uncertain, but data suggest that it could affect a significant number of individuals, range from aproximately 4% to 85.7% according to the studied population. It could be presented as a comorbidity with some psychiatric illnesses like depressive disorder. The effects of burnout could interfere negatively in the individual level (physical, mental, professional and social); professional level (slow and negligent service to the patient/customer, impersonal contact with colleagues and/or patient/customers); and organizational level (conflict with the team’s members, turnover, absenteeism, diminishing of service’s quality). More researches should be carried out to organizations make positive changes based in scientific evidences.