This article aims to understand how the critical theory of aging can contribute to reflections on the social role of the elderly. The methodological approach used in this study is qualitative in nature. It is a descriptive and bibliographical research developed through an integrative literature review. The study enabled the reflection on the critical theory of aging and the social role of older people based on subjectivation and individual and historical processes undertaken on the phenomenon. Despite the subjectivity that the critical theory of aging presents, it is possible to conclude that the main contribution of this theory to studies on aging and old age is based on the proposition of a humanistic approach, focused on the heterogeneity and particularities that each and every person possesses and likewise, the older person.