Resumen: Biomedical and behavioral research, despite being a fundamental activity so as to increase scientific knowledge in basic areas for the well-being of humanity, is a topic that raises ethical issues of importance, particularly, when the aforementioned experimentation is carried out in vulnerable populations. The present paper constitutes a study of bioethical and legal nature about biomedical and behavioral research on prisoners. To this end, regulations currently in force in Spain on this topic are analyzed. Additionally, the author reviews the different conceptions held in recent decades at international level related to research in the prison environment, in order to establish useful guidelines in this field. Copyright (c) 2021 Asier Urruela Mora Idioma: Español DOI: 10.1344/RBD2021.52.31089 Año: 2021 Publicado en: Revista de Bioetica y Derecho 52 (2021), 5-27 ISSN: 1886-5887 Factor impacto CITESCORE: 0.3 - Social Sciences (Q4)