Brazilian geotechnics plays a key role in the pursuit of safer and environmentally sustainable tailings disposal solutions. From that perspective, this paper outlines the Brazilian academia and industry contributions to the geotechnics of mining tailings, highlighting the main aspects of some recent studies carried out by Brazilian research groups. Firstly, a literature review focusing on Brazilian research, published mainly in the last decade, is first presented. Subsequently, aspects relating to the behavior of tailings dams are discussed, including statistical methods for accurately assessing strength parameters, static liquefaction susceptibility of tailings subjected to various stress paths, and numerical models used to evaluate the effect of triggers on the onset of liquefaction of upstream tailings dams. Finally, regarding filtered tailings stacks, increasingly viewed as a preferable option for tailings storage, topics related to particle breakage, transitional behavior, effects of undercompacted materials and static liquefaction susceptibility of iron and rare earth tailings are addressed.