Purpose <p>Evidence based on peer review research findings shapes understandings of and policy responses to the higher than population prevalence of domestic and family violence (DFV) in military families. Drawing on a critical feminist theoretical perspective (centering the constructs of gender, inequality and power and foregrounding women’s knowledge, lived experience and voice), the purpose of this review was to understand how DFV in military families is understood, governed and serviced. It aims to scope ‘the field’, the dominant stakeholders and their research approaches, to inform strategies on diversifying the field into the future.</p> Methods <p>A scoping review of peer reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2023 reporting on primary DFV research in military families was conducted.</p> Results <p>The authors identified 186 peer review articles, mostly reporting on United States of America (USA)-based studies, with a focus on the prevalence of physical violence in military families, correlated with individual risk factors (I.e. mental health conditions, alcohol abuse, trauma/combat exposure, etc.). Much of the scoped research is conducted from an objectivist research paradigm that tends to remove the context in which the domestic violence is occurring. Very few articles investigated DFV in military families from critical and/or relational theoretical and methodological positions or marginalized perspectives.</p> Conclusion <p>These findings highlight that incorporating diverse and multidisciplinary perspectives is crucial in future research, to ensure a focus on gender and power in the military institution, and military service members’ home and family life.</p>