PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analysis the effective short foot exercise methods and verify the effect of short foot exercise (SFE) on medial longitudinal arch (MLA) and balance in order to utilize it as foundation data for clinical fields. METHODS: In this study, research papers were collected by using RISS, KISS and PubMed as a search term for SFE, foot intrinsic muscle exercise (FIME) and MLA. RESULTS: A total of 30 research were gathered, and 16 papers of data were related effect of SFE, and 9 papers was related to effective exercise methods, and 5 papers was related to a comparison with other FIME. The collected data were classified into the influence of SFE on the MLA, balance, and the efficient exercise methods. CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study confirmed that SFE was very effective to maintain MLA and improve foot stability, dynamic balance and gait. In addition to, imagery training and biofeedback with SFE was efficient methods, and SFE applied with weight bearing, or windlass effect, or 30° ankle dorsiflexion strengthened abductor halluces muscle effectively. Therefore, SFE will be useful for rehabilitation of pes planus patients or athletes.