The European rural scenario is marked by several deficiencies, especially those related to infrastructure, combined with the reduction and aging of their populations. Faced with these challenges, the concept of Smart Villages (SV) emerges, a concept that advocates the participation of local and non-local actors to solve problems present in the territory. Thus, this work seeks to analyze the origins of the SV concept, the problems, and how they were treated, analyzing the methods employed and the challenges encountered during the design, development, and implementation of strategies. For the composition of this work, articles and projects related to SV in the European context were analyzed. The main findings of this work are related to the methodologies applied and the challenges faced in the application of the strategies, especially for the use of digital technologies.