The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of 12 weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation program with a treadmill on exercise capacity of burned children measured by maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max). Methods: thirty children from both sexes with healed partial thickness thermal burns participated in this study one month after being discharged from hospital. The patients’ age ranged from 7-17 years with total body surface area (TBSA) of 20-40 %. Patients were randomized to either group A(control) who received their traditional physical therapy program, or group B ( pulmonary rehabilitation group) who received in addition to traditional physical therapy program a pulmonary rehabilitation program in the form of aerobic exercises on a treadmill. The treatment was continued for 12 weeks at the frequency of 3 times per week. VO2max and treadmill time were measured before treatment and after 12 weeks after treatment. Results: there were significant differences between the groups. VO2max and treadmill time improvements for groups A and B were 26.9%, 25.6% and 58.6%, 60.5% respectively. Conclusion: adding aerobic exercises to traditional rehabilitation program is more effective in improving exercise capacity of burned children rather than performing traditional rehabilitation program alone, which accelerates the return of the children to their schools and perform their daily living activities.\nKey words: Burn; Aerobic exercise; Exercise capacity.

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