Bembidion is the largest genus of beetles in the family Carabidae by number of species. There have been many attempts to divide it into smaller genera, most notably by René Jeannel in 1941 and by G.G. Perrault in 1981, but none of them has been generally accepted. All species are small (less than 7.5 mm) and move very fast. Most of them live close to water. The genus has a biantitropical distribution. In warmer regions it is substituted by closely related Tachys and other genera.