Resumen: Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is the most economically important tick of the world, including Brazil. Whereas the epidemiology of R. microplus is well known in most of the Brazilian land, virtually nothing is known from the Brazilian semiarid region, the Caatinga biome. Considering the relevance of R. microplus for the cattle industry within the Caatinga, this study aimed to evaluate for the first time the off-host development of this tick species under natural conditions of the Caatinga. During 2011?2015, engorged females of R. microplus were exposed to field conditions of native Caatinga, where female oviposition, egg incubation and hatching, and larval survival were quantified. In parallel, counterpart ticks (control group) were evaluated under optimal conditions in the laboratory. During the study, nearly 100% of the engorged females of the control group successfully oviposited fertile egg masses, from which most of the eggs yielded larvae (mean % hatching usually>90%). Under field conditions, while almost 100% of the engorged females oviposited, in most of the times no larvae hatched from these eggs. Furthermore, when larvae hatched, mean % hatching was most of the times