I briefly review the Higgs sector in the standard model (SM) and its minimal aupersymmetric extension, the MSSM. After summarizing the properties of the Higgs bosons and the present experimental constraints, I will discuss the prospects for discovering these particle at the upgraded Tevatron, the large hadron collider (LHC) and a high-energye⁺e⁻ linear collider. The possibility of studying the properties of the Higgs particles will be then summarized.

I review the physics of the Higgs sector in the standard model and its minimal supersymmetric extension, the MSSM. I will discuss the prospects for discovering the Higgs particles at the upgraded Tevatron, at the large hadron collider, and at a future high-energye⁺e⁻ linear collider with centre-of-mass energy in the 350–800 GeV range, as well as the possibilities for studying their fundamental properties. Some emphasis will be put on the theoretical developments which occurred in the last two years.

The theoretical aspects of the physics of Higgs bosons are reviewed focussing on the elements that are relevant for the production and detection at present hadron colliders. After briefly summarizing the basics of electroweak symmetry breaking in the Standard Model, the Higgs production at the LHC and at the Tevatron is discussed, with some focus on the main production mechanism, the gluon–gluon fusion process, and the main Higgs decay modes and the experimental detection channels are discussed. Then the case of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model is briefly surveyed. In the last section, the prospects for determining the fundamental properties of the Higgs particles are reviewed, once they have been experimentally observed.