Supergravity and inflation

The reasons that led to study supersymmetric models in the context of inflation are reviewed by setting up the constraints that candidates to an inflationary scenario must satisfy. The question is raised whether the groundstate of the new scalar field introduced, the inflation, breaks supersymmetry. This is discussed in connection with the so-called thermal constraint. Some problems about the study of thermal fluctuations are discussed. The different models available are reviewed and the way they address those issues. A discussion of baryon number generation and of the gravitation problem follows.