Abstract: Osteoarthritis(OA)is a common clinical chronic joint degenerative disease. One of the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) -pain will cause dysfunction in the daily life of the elderly, and thereby increases the risk of many diseases, so it has been widely concerned. The treatment of KOA in the elderly includessurgical and nonsurgical treatment. In nonsurgical treatment, exercise therapy is the most important method of intervention. This paper reviews the domestic and foreign research and it is found that the pathogenic factors of KOA include age, physical activity, endocrine, neuromuscular control, obesity and the like. Physical activity, disability, obesity and neuromuscular control can be improved by exercise therapy. Most of the current studies confirm the improvement of symptoms and functions in patients with KOA by exercise therapy. The combination of muscle strength training and aerobic training is beneficial to improve symptoms in most KOA patients, but it should be based on the evaluation of individual patients to choose the type of exercise. Exercise therapy depends largely on the patient's compliance, so the exercise prescription should take full account of individual differences of patients, the overall principle can refer to the American Sports Medicine Association or other similar institutions formulated exercise prescription guidelines.

Key words: the elderly, knee osteoarthritis(KOA), sport rehabilitation, exercise therapy