Within the context of the return to democracy, the new constitution enacted in 1988 transformed health into an individual right and initiated the process of creating a public, universal and decentralized health system, profoundly altering the organization of public health in Brazil. This article discusses the main institutional, political and social aspects of this health reform, along with the changes, the continuities and the major initiatives, based on the literature published by the most widely read authors in this field of study. Without purporting to offer an exhaustive analysis, we discuss how the historiography written by authors who were also actors in the process assess its main features, along with the genesis of the process and the legacy of health reform in Brazil.