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In this review I first describe the nature of the three kinds of High-MassX-ray Binaries (HMXBs), accreting through: (i) Be circumstellar disc, (ii)supergiant stellar wind, and (iii) Roche lobe filling supergiants. I thenreport on the discovery of two new populations of HMXBs hosting supergiantstars, recently revealed by a wealth of new observations, coming from the highenergy side (INTEGRAL, Swift, XMM, Chandra satellites), and complemented bymulti-wavelength optical/infrared observations (mainly ESO facilities). Thefirst population is constituted of obscured supergiant HMXBs, the second one ofsupergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs), exhibiting short and intense X-rayflares. I finally discuss the formation and evolution of HMXBs, constrain theaccretion models (e.g. clumpy winds, transitory accretion disc,magneto-centrifugal barrier), show evidences suggesting the existence of anevolutionary link, include comparisons with population synthesis models, andfinally build a consistent scenario explaining the various characteristics ofthese extreme celestial sources. Because they are the likely progenitors ofLuminous Blue Variables (LBVs), and also of neutron star/black hole binarymergers, related to short/hard gamma-ray bursts, the knowledge of the nature,formation and evolution of these HMXB populations is of prime importance.

Optical/infrared observations unveiling the formation, nature and evolution of High-Mass X-ray Binaries