Objective: To identify the studies that have applied Emotional Intelligence instruments in university students in the last 20 years (2001 to 2020).

Methodology: A desk study (systematic review) was carried out. The selection of primary studies was carried out in the Scopus and Scielo databases. The range of years systematized was from 2001 to 2020. The studies are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. The keywords in English were used: Instruments, emotion intelligence, evaluation; in Spanish: instruments, emotional intelligence, evaluation. The observation technique was used to record the information, and the instrument was an observation record.

Results: 75% (n = 12) of the primary studies were published in English, 18.8% (n = 3) in Spanish and 6% (n = 1) in French. Also, it is highlighted that 81.3% (n = 13) of the articles were published in the Scopus database, 18.8% (n = 3) in the Scielo database. The highest number of publications were in the last 5 years (62.5%, n = 10). The instruments that were used to evaluate EI were MSCEIT, Bar-On and TMMS.

Conclusion: It was verified that the Emotional Intelligence (EI) instruments that were most applied to university students were the MSCEIT, the Bar-On and TMMS, in addition, the studies from 2001 to 2020 were gradually increasing. The results suggest the use and application of these instruments for samples of young university students.