In the review of literary genres contained in Quintilian’s Institutio oratoria book X, no author is mentioned as a representative of the epigrammatic genre. This article argues that for Quintilian the epigrammatic genre coincides mainly with the scommatic subgenus; that he does not disdain the epigrammatic genre in general, but only its excesses; and that he uses epigrammatic poetry to communicate his own pedagogical intent, exploiting the notoriety of its authors.