Considered a highly prevalent infection throughout the world, the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a DNA virus that infects the genital mucosa and has high carcinogenic potential, being related to an increased risk of lower genital tract lesions, such as cervical cancer. This cancer is responsible for the deaths of about 231,000 women per year worldwide, which means that HPV is a major problem for public health. Knowing that the most effective and cost-effective way to control an infectious disease is the development of vaccines, two prophylactic vaccines have been developed and approved in Brazil, one of which is bivalent and the other is tetravalent. This review of the literature seeks to present the characteristics of the HPV virus, types of vaccines available on the market, their indications and contraindications, their adverse effects, their effectiveness, their geometric mean titer (GMT) and their cost-effectiveness.