In the succession process of a family business, a valuable knowledge often lies in the founding figure or a limited number of family members. Therefore, the willingness of the predecessor to share knowledge becomes a key factor in the succession process. The research aims to analyze how predecessors and successors of family businesses share knowledge to ensure the long-term survival of the company considering exploration and exploitation as knowledge sharing strategies. A survey was carried out with 303 predecessors and successors of family companies of a Brazilian entity for development of the retail, industry and service sectors from the Southern Brazil. The sample of the study was predecessor who participates of a Brazilian entity for development For to achieve our research aim, we adopted constructs from the intra-organizational family firm context addressing knowledge sharing between predecessors with their successors. In a theoretical perspective, the main contribution of this paper provides evidence that exploration and exploitation might be address as knowledge sharing strategies within the family business context. Our study may contribute to the discussion about the manner in which knowledge sharing takes place in family firms in the succession process. Bearing in mind that the predecessor holds a valuable knowledge of the family business, studies that address specific issues as knowledge sharing between generations may offer practical contributions to the preservation and even enhancement of knowledge in family businesses.