Abstract: Objective To investigate the present situation, education, supply and demand of rehabilitation therapists. Methods We compared the education modes, training mechanism and professional qualifications between the rehabilitation therapists in China and abroad through extensive literature review. Results There is a serious lack of rehabilitation therapists at present in China. The training for the rehabilitation therapists was not standard. Their education backgrounds were generally low with widely different qualifications. Suggestion According to the practical conditions of our country, we should unify the training for both physical therapists and working therapists, establish the unified teaching outline, textbooks, curriculums and training standards, construct standard, scientific and systematic examination and evaluation systems, set up strict qualification system, standardize the rehabilitation treatment market, lay emphasis on the combination of theory with practice, introduce the rehabilitation treatment theory of traditional Chinese medicine into practice, and train the rehabilitation therapists with Chinese talents.