Bembidion is the largest genus of beetles in the family Carabidae by number of species.

[2] All species are small (less than 7.5 mm) and move very fast.

[2] The genus has a biantitropical distribution, meaning they are found in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but not in the tropics.

[3] In warmer regions it is substituted by closely related Tachys and other genera.

[2] There have been many attempts to divide it into smaller genera, most notably by René Jeannel in 1941 and by G.G.