BACKGROUND: Drowning remains a public health issue worldwide, particularly among children and adolescents. The concept of water competence has emerged as a multidimensional approach to drowning prevention, encompassing motor, cognitive and affective components. However, there is limited clarity regarding how water competence has been assessed in literature, especially concerning the dimensions evaluated and the aquatic environments considered. This study aimed to analyze and synthesize the assessment instruments used to evaluate water competence in children and adolescents within the context of drowning prevention; METHODS: A literature review was conducted in SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PubMed databases were queried using terms related to water competence, water safety skills, drowning prevention and assessment instruments. Studies included those that assessed water competence including at least one component: motor skills, aquatic security knowledge, and risk/safety attitudes. Data was extracted and organized to allow descriptive and thematic analysis of the identified instruments; RESULTS: The studies revealed heterogeneity in water competence assessment methods. Most instruments primarily evaluated motor skills and aquatic performance, predominantly in swimming pools. Cognitive and affective dimensions were less frequently assessed, and few instruments addressed water competence in open water contexts; CONCLUSIONS: Current assessments of water competence remain largely restricted to motor performance in controlled aquatic environments, overlooking multidimensional and contextual aspects relevant to drowning prevention. These findings emphasize the need for assessment practices that reflect the environmental conditions in which aquatic risks occur, and tools that integrate multiple dimensions of water competence and reflect the ecological realities in which children engage with water
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