Global climate change is expected to exacerbate water shortages, particularly in deserts and semideserts regions, intensifying abiotic stress and compromising agricultural productivity. The exogenous application of brassinosteroids (BRs) is known to enhance plant growth and development while mitigating the effects of abiotic stress. This study evaluated the potential of BRs as water stress attenuators in papaya plants. To achieve this, five irrigation levels (60, 80, 100, 120, and 140% of ET0) and three concentrations of 24-epibrassinolide (epiBL-0, 0.5, and 1.0 mg L-1) were tested in a randomized block design with a factorial scheme (5 x 3), totaling 15 treatments with four replicates. The evaluated variables included plant growth, photosynthetic pigment content, and leaf concentrations of sugars, proteins, amino acids, proline, and glycine betaine. Water deficit negatively impacted papaya growth, whereas epiBL application significantly promoted plant development. Soluble amino acid content decreased, while soluble protein content increased with higher irrigation levels and brassinosteroid application. Proline and glycine betaine concentrations declined under epiBL treatment. The application of epiBL enhanced photosynthetic pigment levels, protein content, and carbohydrate accumulation, with glucose and fructose likely contributing to increased leaf and stem growth. The application of 1.0 mg L-1 epiBL facilitated osmotic adjustment in papaya plants under 80% ET0, alleviating water deficit effects and promoting growth. These findings confirm the potential of BRs as an effective strategy to mitigate water stress in deserts and semideserts regions.