In the actual era of the international trade, global warming and depletion of Earth natural resources, the willingness to generate sustainable and competitive benefits determines us to stop thinking linearly (produce, consume and dispose) and to shift toward a circular approach by closing material loops. This last way of thinking falls within the concept of circular economy that, in turn, derives from reverse logistics. This paper proposes a comprehensive state-of-the-art around the circular economy and reverse logistics with a particular focus on mid-term production planning. The broad spectrum of reviewed publications is categorized and discussed with respect to the main recovery operations, namely: (i) disassembly for recycling, (ii) from product to raw material recycling, and (iii) by-products and co-production. For each of aforementioned recovery options, this paper elucidates the related definitions, reviews the mathematical formulations jointly with a structured overview of the solution methods, and discusses their industrial implications. Given the legislative pressure to mitigate environmental impacts caused by production operations, a special attention is paid to the greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Finally, gaps in the literature are identified and future research opportunities are suggested.