The ability to read is fundamental in our society, because through it we acquire knowledge, develop self-criticism, and guarantee our autonomy. Reading fluency is the act of reading naturally, accurately, and expressively, and difficulties in this skill can negatively impact the academic path of students during basic education. Understanding the importance of this reading skill, the aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review on the development of reading fluency in elementary school students, analyzing articles from the PubMed and SciELO literature databases. Of the 117 articles found, 17 studies were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria proposed in this review. The articles suggested a progression of reading fluency throughout the school grades, with a tendency for this skill to stabilize in the final years of elementary school, and highlighted the correlation between reading fluency, reading comprehension and academic performance.