Resumo. Abstract: Aim Understanding riverine carbon cycling is a major issue for stream ecologists. Over the past 60 years, important advance in carbon dynamics and ecosystem energy flow have been made mainly through the Budget and Metabolism approaches. However, much less focus has been given to the quantification of longitudinal movement of organic matter. The concept “Organic Carbon Spiraling” (SOC) was formulated in the early 80s, and represented a substantial advance in the understanding of the longitudinal flow of elements in lotic systems. Methods In this review, we summarize the history behind the SOC concept, cover the major advances at the time of its creation, describe the operational variables and the equation for SOC calculation, and discuss future directions and current applications of this approach. Results/Conclusions We emphasize the need for integrating the C spiraling approach in other regions of the globe, given that measurements are almost exclusive of North America. Such comparative studies can elucidate important drivers of C export, storage and oxidation. Advance in dissolved organic carbon characterization, and improvements in heterotrophic respiration measurements are required to improve SOC accuracy, as well as realistic estimates of benthic stock. With the current interest in examining how lotic systems contribute to regional and global C budgets, we argue that SOC is an effective way to achieve this goal and answer classical questions in stream ecology.