Brazilian science fiction has been a part of Brazilian literature since the mid 19th century. The first works of Brazilian Science Fiction emerged in the decades following Brazil's independence. Brazilian science fiction has its roots in authors such as Augusto Emílio Zaluar in the novel O Doutor Benignus and Machado de Assis in the short story O Imortal (1882). The genre grew in popularity over the 20th century, reaching its first “golden age” in the late 1950s, bolstered by the work of publisher Gumercindo Rocha Dorea. Following the end of the military dictatorship in 1985, the genre has witnessed a renaissance, with an influx of new writers and diverse influences reshaping the genre.

The first examples of Brazilian science fiction literature were written in the decades following Brazil's independence. At the time, the literary culture in Brazil stemmed from a small group of elites, as a large majority of the population was still illiterate. The upper class were significantly outward looking, holding themselves in the same esteem as European society. Brazilian science fiction emerged in the latter half of the 19th century, roughly parallel with the burgeoning popularity of Science Fiction in France, particularly the work of Jules Verne, who is widely considered to be the progenitor of science fiction literature. The new cadre of Brazilian writers began incorporating science fiction motifs, like imaginary societies studied with scientific rigor, and futuristic voyages. While admittedly derivative of the scientific romance story models of European science fiction, the works were often based around the specific geographical and social landscape of 19th century Brazil.

Emílio Zaluar, a naturalized Brazilian citizen born in Portugal, wrote one of the country's principal science fiction texts, O Doutor Benignus (en: Dr. Benignus), in 1875. O Doutor Benignus is pointed to as being the first fully realized Brazilian science fiction text. Zaluar kept abreast of scientific discovery and read numerous scientific publications in order to realize his work, which mapped current scientific consensus to a narrative, in the tradition of Jules Verne. The book references Verne by name, as well as Camille Flammarion, whose writing about extraterrestrial life manifests itself in the text. Creating science fiction narratives that intertwined with the framework of Brazil's developing national identity of “Grandeza”, or greatness, is a hallmark of Brazilian science fiction. There is a utopian undercurrent that runs through the work; namely that science will enhance the bountiful natural endowments that Brazil has, and will allow Brazil to achieve its vision of becoming a world power equal to those in Europe.

Some other notable proto-FC (proto-ficção científica) works include: O Fim do Mundo (en: The End of the World) by Joaquim Manuel de Macedo (1857); Páginas da história do Brasil, escritas no ano 2000 (en: Pages of history of Brazil, written in the year 2000) by Joaquim Felício dos Santos (published 1868-1872 in O Jequitinhonha); O Imortal (en: The Immortal) by Marchado de Assis (1882); and A Rainha do Ignoto (en: The Queen of the Unknown) by Emília Freitas (1899).

Between January and October 1907, the children's magazine O Tico-Tico published the novel Viagens maravilhosas do Dr. Alpha ao mundo dos planetas, written and illustrated by Oswaldo Silva, possibly the first space travel story in Brazilian literature.

As Brazil entered the 20th century, more utopian strains of speculative fiction emerged, as well as developing latent elements of social criticism. The scientifically inclined lost world model of speculative fiction was still popular within Brazil. As a notable example, Gastão Cruls' A Amazônia Misteriosa from 1925 was based around the discovery of a secluded tribe deep within the Amazon, being experimented on by a German scientist. The novel drew heavily from H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, but used the premise as a way to explore and criticize neo-colonial attitudes. Adalzira Bittencourt's Sua Excia. a presidente da República (en: Her Excellency, the president of the Republic) (1929) also explores these themes, with a utopian tone overlying a sinister, eugenicist society.

The genre started to become more refined in the mid-20th century. Afonso Schmidt's 1949 publication of Zanzalá (which had been in progress since 1928) is considered a foundational work, being honored in the journal Zanzalá – Revista Brasileira de Estudos sobre Gêneros Cinematográficos e Audiovisuais (en: Zanzalá - Brazilian Journal on Studies of Cinematographic and Audiovisual Genres). Érico Verissimo, inspired by the earlier de Assis, published several pioneering works, such as As Aventuras de Tibicuera (en: The Adventures of Tibicuera) in 1937 and Viagem à Aurora do Mundo (en: Journey to the Dawn of the World) in 1939.

H. G. Wells’ influence loomed large over Brazilian writers in the first half of the 20th century, as Jules Verne had in the latter half of the 19th century. His influence can be seen in the work of both novelists and the serialized pulp writers. While there were important novels published during this era, the majority of science fiction published up until the 1960s appeared in cheap pulp magazines. The work was often formulaic and drew heavily from the cliches of American pulp fiction. Authors such as Rubens Francisco Lucchetti were emblematic of the era; Lucchetti was hugely prolific and published more than 1500 pulp stories under a number of pseudonyms over the course of his career.