The Madagascan species of Dolichopodidae are poorly known and have not previously been reviewed. Now 58 species and 20 genera belonging to 6 subfamilies are found, that may include 25% of total fauna. The named Madagascan species comprise less then 10% of Afrotropical fauna of the family numbering 700 to 710 species belonging to about 55 genera. Representatives of the subfamilies Rhaphiinae and Neurigoninae are absent on the island. Sciapodinae is the most numerous here (32 species and 7 genera) as in Afrotropical Region as a whole. Dytomyia Bickel is worth to note, being probably genus of Gondwanaland origin. Six species of the Dytomyia are known from Australia and New Guinea and five species from Madagascar. Craterophorus Lamb and Urodolichus Lamb are confined to western Indian Ocean islands. Madagascar has no endemic genera. Meanwhile, 28 species are yet unknown out of the island. Every island of western Indian Ocean surrounding Madagascar (Mauritius, Reunion, Rodriguez, Comores and Seychelles) also has endemic species. There are several tramp species widely distributed across Indian Ocean: Amblypsilopus pallidicornis (Grimshaw), Chrysosoma snelli Curran, Medetera grisescens de Meijere, Tachytrechus tessellatus (Macquart), Thinophilus indigenus Becker. Some of them reach to southern Palearctics. The other species are often common in continental Africa, occurring from southern to eastern and western countries.
Key words: Dolichopodidae, Madagascar, biogeography.