This article analyzes the objects and dominant perspectives in the field of communication for the development and social change in Latin America according to the preliminary results of a bibliometric study of the articles published on the subject in ten Latin American journals on communication noted in the h-index of Google Scholar. From these results and the literature review of the bibliography for reference in the field –anthologies, special issues and founding texts–, a map of the main problems and approaches in the study of communication, development and social change is presented. With this material it is intended to discern the epistemological boundaries of the field and establish dialogues with other disciplines in the social sciences.