The study of 'recent' crinoids inhabiting the coasts of Africa began in the early 19th century. This paper summarizes all work done by that moment, about crinoids around the African coasts. There is made a (short) list of species belonging to five well-marked districts and 'the annotated list of species' sums up the references to literature, the locality and depth of capture. In some cases a description of the species itself and/or any remarks are given.