female genital mutilation comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for cultural, religious or other non therapeutic reasons. Following immigrational processes, this phenomenon, at first confined to geographical areas economically poor, is striking western countries; for this reason recently many scientific studies in the fields of medicine, anthropology and psychology have investigated aspects related to the practice of female genital mutilation. The authors’ purpose is to provide a scientific literature review about prevalence, reasons and health consequences of female genital mutilation. Key words: female genital mutilation, prevalence, psychosexual impact, health.