The concept of hoarding is a matter of study and debate since several years and has been trough various changes concerning its definition and categorization, namely in what concerns the differentiation from “normal” collecting behaviour and the association with other mental disorders as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

This comunication reviews the evolution of the concept of hoarding and its implications in the assessment, management and treatment of the patients.

The authors pretend to highlight the nosological path traced by the scientific research until today and present the state of the art in this field.

The authors selected articles referring to hoarding disorder in PUBMED and SCIENCEDIRECT databases and made a literature's review about the theme.

Latter findings have identifyed clinical, neurobiological and treatment features in hoarding individuals that seem to be specific and that suggest the conceptualization of a standalone condition that presents independently from other disorders. The recent proposal of a Hoarding Disorder for the new DSM-V advances with some criteria in order to categorize this entity and establish its diagnostc boundaries.

The emerging of a new nosologic entity constitutes a change of perspective in the understanding of this condition that has implications at various levels, such as the aproach to the patient, his management and treatment.