BACKGROUND: the term language is defined as organized system of symbols, with properties, that has a role in encoding, consolidation and structuring sensory data, allowing for experiments to be reported and their contents communicated. Language development depends not just on the innate biological conditions of each individual, but is also influenced by environmental factors in the environments where children are inserted, such as family and school. PURPOSE: to describe and analyze scientific studies relevant to understanding the influence of family and school environment in language acquisition and development in children through a literature review. CONCLUSION: the scientific studies point out to the importance of stimulation in the family and parents' education, but one can perceive a lack of studies in children's development within school en vironment. Another factor that drew attention was the lack of studies to correlate vocabulary and phonology with the school and familial environmental factors. From the literature review opens up new prospects for work to be performed in speech pathology so that such gaps can be filled up with new knowledge on child development.