The Book of Imaginary Beings was written by Jorge Luis Borges with Margarita Guerrero and published in 1957 under the original Spanish title Manual de zoología fantástica ("Handbook of fantastic zoology").

[5] In the preface, Borges states that the book is to be read "as with all miscellanies... not... straight through... Rather we would like the reader to dip into the pages at random, just as one plays with the shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope"; and that "legends of men taking the shapes of animals" have been omitted.

[10] An article in Journal of Modern Literature, written by Melanie Nicholson, reported that some critics described the book as a "curious but unoriginal compilation of already-told tale".

British weird fiction author China Miéville credits Borges for inspiring The Tain, his 2002 fantasy novella, which features "imagos" that resemble the Fauna of Mirrors entry in The Book of Imaginary Beings.

[12] Cuban composer and classical guitarist Leo Brouwer also titled a 2018 album El Libro de los Seres Imaginarios after Borges's book.