Preschool-aged children are in a critical period of developing fundamental movement skills (FMS). FMS have a close link with physical activity (PA). This study aimed to systematically review the associations between FMS and PA in preschool-aged children. Searching Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO (including SPORTDiscus, ERIC, and Academic Search Premier) was utilized to conduct a systematic review of the available literature. Studies were included if they examined associations between FMS and PA among typically developing children aged 3-6 years, published between January 2000 and April 2020. A total of 26 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 24 cross-sectional studies and two cohort studies. There was a strong level of evidence to support low to moderate associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity and components of FMS, specifically, the total FMS (r = 0.11-0.48, R2 = 16%-19%) and object control skill (r = 0.16-0.46, β = 0.28-0.49, R2 = 10.4%-16.9%). Similar associations were also found between the total physical activity and components of FMS, specifically, the total FMS (r = 0.10-0.45, R2 = 16%), locomotor skills (r = 0.14-0.46, R2 = 21.3%), and objective control skills (r = 0.16-0.44, β = 0.47, R2 = 19.2%). There was strong evidence that there is no significant association between light physical activity and FMS, specifically, total FMS and locomotor skills. The associations, including "stability skills-PA" and "locomotor skills-moderate to vigorous PA", were uncertain due to insufficient evidence. Our findings provide strong evidence of associations between specific FMS components and a specific PA intensity. Future studies should consider using a longitudinal study design in order to explore the causal relationship between specific-intensity PA and the FMS subdomain.
Keywords: association; early years; fundamental movement skills; physical activity.