This chapter provides a review of African family systems, tracing their evolution from precolonial contexts through colonial and postcolonial periods to the present. We examine how broad social processes such as urbanization, migration, globalization, modernity, and economic transformation have influenced family formations, kinship arrangements, gender roles, responsibilities, and the overall well-being of family members. The chapter later focuses on contemporary African family structures/forms, analyzing their diversity, continuity, and disjuncture, as well as the adaptive strategies families employ in response to changing social realities. Through these perspectives, we intend to show how African families negotiate tradition and change, maintain resilience, and respond to the challenges and opportunities of the contemporary social landscape. We open the chapter by providing a clear conceptualization of the family, situating it within African-centered perspectives that recognize both its universal features and its culturally specific forms.