The objective of the present study was to determine the number of families necessary for selection in a segregant population. Nine segregant populations from the bean improvement program of the Federal University of Lavras were evaluated. The number of families varied from 169 to 295, and the average family heritability estimate (h²) for grain production varied from 5.3 to 82.0%. Different sample sizes were simulated using the average family performance. The first sample consisted of 30 families, with each additional sample containing 10 more families, until the total number of families evaluated was reached for each population. One thousand simulations per sample size were performed. These data were used to determine the average, minimum and maximum phenotypic variance and the standard error of the variance. The probability of occurrence of a certain level of phenotypic variance for the corresponding values of 0.0, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 of heritability was determined for all families, using a chi² distribution. Based on the results obtained and considering the experimental precision and conditions of the bean improvement programs in this region, the use of less than 100 families would reduce the probability of successful selection.
