The theme of decentralization embraces many kinks of understanding and 'value' concepts, what makes the debate very controversial and polemic in national and international literature. From this evidence, this article presents "schematically", as a methodological resource, many different approaches that can be found in literature about this theme, trying to show the different dimensions of this concept, its presupposes and justifications, leading this way to a better comprehension of decentralization as a political phenomenon which, in the contemporary time, has placed itself as strategic to State's Reform's project. The appropriation of this kind of understanding about decentralization is also shown by the author from a survey of different approaches about this theme in the specific sphere of action of health literature in Brazil. This field activity is considered advantageous in terms of production of decentralized models' proposals in the organization of health systems.