Gert-Martin Greuel, Eugenii Shustin

• Singular algebraic curves, their existence, deformation, families (from the local and global point of view) attract continuous attention of algebraic geometers since the last century. The aim of our paper is to give an account of results, new trends and bibliography related to the geometry of equisingular families of algebraic curves on smooth algebraic surfaces over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. This theory is founded in basic works of Plücker, Severi, Segre, Zariski, and has tight links and finds important applications in singularity theory, topology of complex algebraic curves and surfaces, and in real algebraic geometry.