This paper offers a classification of the models of research in audiovisual translation and describes the different theoretical approaches towards this field proposed during the last two decades. The analysis reveals that studies on audiovisual translation can tentatively be grouped into two large sets: studies focusing on the process involved in audiovisual translating, and studies of audiovisual translated texts as products. The second group moves into the basic constituents of audiovisual texts and the interaction between word and image: taking into consideration audiovisual texts as verbal-iconic discourses, authors focus on the interplay between linguistic utterances and iconic representations on the screen through mechanisms of cohesion and a deeper analysis of the process of communication involved. These product-oriented studies range from the ones that consider films as adaptations of former literary texts, to studies centred on the cultural impact of audiovisual translations in target audiences, according to the polysystem theory and the norms of audiovisual translation.