Introduction: Many epidemiological studies suggest that the intrauterine environment is extremely important to the determination of the individual’s future health. Alterations in the maternal nutritional state, reflected on the weight on birth, may program the litter for the development of diseases on the adult age. Studies with animals exposed to intrauterine malnutrition have suggested a reduction in the number of glomeruli, as well as arterial pressure increase. To review in the literature the alterations of the renal physiology of adult Wistar rats exposed to malnourishment during intrauterine life. Material and methods: A search was performed in the following databases: SciELO, MEDLINE, PUBMED, SCIENCE DIRECT and LILACS. The main search terms were “malnutrition” and “renal function” both in Portuguese and in English. Were included original articles involving albino rats. Were excluded the review articles as well as those involving human beings. Results: According to Franco et al. (2009) the renal function and the number of glomeruli were reduced by the intrauterine malnutrition, predisposing the adult animals to renal diseases. For Chen and Chou (2009) the glomerular ultrastructure is not affected by maternal undernutrition, suggesting that this factor does not contribute to the hypertension pathogenesis after maternal malnutrition. Conclusion: Intrauterine malnourishment seems to interfere in the renal functions programming with alterations to the glomeruli morphology, but its mechanisms are yet uncertain. More randomized studies and clinical essays are suggested in order to comprehend the factors that cause such process.