Although more than 500 thalassinid taxa have been described so far, only eight species of Thalassinidea are recorded from a total of more than 5800 km of Chilean and Argentine coastline. Most knowledge of the Thalassinidea from Chile and Argentina is restricted to intertidal or shallow subtidal species, out of which some are of interest to local artisanal fisheries. Thalassinid diversity from the deeper sublittoral to the bathyal remains almost entirely unknown at present. This work reviews the scarce knowledge on the biogeography and life history of the Chilean and Argentine Thalassinidae. The study includes an analysis of original sampling sites with special focus on the local South American scientific literature.