INTRODUCTION: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease characterized by inflammation of the joints of the spine and sacroiliac and to a lesser percentage of the peripheral joints. It is a debilitating condition which reduces quality of life in patients with AS. The practice of physical therapy is recommended as non-pharmacological treatment as well as the treatment and prevention of associated deformities. OBJECTIVE: To collect and summarize the available evidence in scientific databases to realize the effectiveness of home based and group based programs in patients with AS. METHODS: Systematic review, where articles for the study were collected from scientific database PubMed. We have found 65 articles with publication date between January 1, 2004 and January 31, 2014. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established to make the selection of articles to include in the study. All investigators provided their agreement in presencial meeting for a final selection, and at a later stage, the articles were read in full by the three investigators. RESULTS: The present systematic review includes eight randomized controlled trials. All articles show functional benefits in patients with AS subject to exercise programs in group based and/or home based. From the eight articles, 4 addressed programs conducted in home based context and 4 addressed in group based context programs. CONCLUSION: There appears to be evidence that the programs carried out based on group are more effective than those home based conducted in patients with AS. It was concluded also be advantageous to carry out home based exercise programs than the absence of any exercise program.

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