Aim: to map scientific evidence on parents' hope in contexts of perinatal and neonatal palliative care. Method: scoping review following the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute and registered in the Open Science Framework. Searches were performed until May 2023 in PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases; the bibliographies of the selected studies were also searched. The inclusion criterion was studies that addressed the hope of parents in perinatal and neonatal palliative care. The search returned over 1.341 studies. The limits used were full text access to papers written in English, Spanish or Portuguese, without a predefined time limit. Results: 27 studies were included in the review, most of them carried out in the United States of America, under a phenomenological or literature review approach. It was possible to identify a centrality of the women´s perspective and in context of pregnancy and perinatal palliative care. The experience of parents’ hope is articulated to the process of dealing with the uncertainty of information and diagnosis, process to which interaction with health professionals is a determinant and potentially distressful. Hope was identified as one of the determinants of coping and, consequently, linked to autonomy and parenthood. Cognitive behavior and affiliative were the dimensions of hope that predominated in results. Conclusion: Hope is a force capable of guiding parents along the path of uncertainties experienced through the diagnosis of a condition that compromises their child's life, and health professionals are key elements to keep them moving, acting as support. Implications to palliative care and research are registered.