Objective To systematically analyze the effect of rhythmic physical activity on executive function and sub-components in healthy preschool children. Methods Literature in Chinese and English was retrieved from databases such as CNKI,Wanfang Data,EBSCO,PubMed,Google Scholar and Web of Science for researches about the intervention of rhythmic physical activity for executive function of healthy children aged three to six years,up to October,2024.The methodological quali-ty of the researches was evaluated with PEDro Scale,and data were extracted for a systematic review. Results Ten researches,published between 2019 and 2024,from seven countries,were included;and seven were random-ized controlled trials and three were quasi experiment,involving a total of 1 047 children.The scores of the PE-Dro scale ranged five to eight.The rhythmic physical activity intervention was 20 to 50 minutes a time,one to five times a week,for six to 20 weeks.The forms of rhythmic physical activity intervention included sports activi-ties(street dance,flower ball cheerleading,walking,running,jumping and other motor skill exercises),music teaching activities(music perception,rhythm synchronization and music games),dance activities(creative dance,action imitation and role playing)and music performance activities(body percussion,rhythm sticks,sand balls and drums).Rhythmic physical activity was effective on at least one sub-component of executive function.How-ever,five of the seven researches involving cognitive flexibility failed to demonstrate a positive effect.Six re-searches compared the effects of rhythmic physical activity versus other physical activities,and five found that rhythmic physical activity was more effective on executive function. Conclusion Rhythmic physical activity can improve inhibitory control and working memory in preschool children;but the effect on cognitive flexibility remain controversial.