Abstract Introduction: The increased interest in minimally-invasive treatments, such as the thread lifting, with lower risk of complications, minimum length of time away from work and effectiveness in correcting ptosis and aging characteristics has led many specialists to adopt this technique, but many doubts about its safety and effectiveness still limit its overall use. Objective: To analyze data published in the literature on the durability of results, their effectiveness, safety, and risk of serious adverse events associated with procedures using several types of threading sutures. Methods: Literature review using the key words ‘‘thread lift’’, ‘‘barbed suture’’, ‘‘suture suspension’’ and ‘‘APTOS’’. Due to the scarcity of literature, recent reports of facial lifting using threads were also selected, complemented with bibliographical references. Result: The first outcomes of facial lifting with barbed sutures remain inconclusive. Adverse events may occur, although they are mostly minor, self-limiting, and short-lived. The data on the maximum effect of the correction, the durability of results, and the consequences of the long-term suture stay are yet to be clarified. Conclusion: Interest in thread lifting is currently high, but this review suggests that it should not yet be adopted as an alternative to rhytidectomy. © 2017 Associac¸ao˜ Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cervico-Facial. ´ Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).