To understand the trends in research in the fields of physical therapy, all issues of the Journal of Korean Society of Physical Therapy were reviewed from volume 1 in 1989 to volume 13, number 2 in 2001 in regard to research themes, research objects, and research designs. The number of articles dramatically increased in recent years. Although exercise physiology, biomechanics, and therapeutic exercise were major subjects of interest, alternative treatment modalities such as massage, taping, acupuncture were fields of increasing interests. There were also increasing interests in medical engineering and basic science. Cerebrovascular accidents, elderly people, sportsmen were research objects of increasing frequency. In regard to research designs, experimental research designs such as randomized controlled designs and nonequivalent controlled designs were increasingly adopted in clinical research.