Abstract: How to preserve or improve cognitive function in later life and slow down the process of aging effectively has become an important public health goal. A great deal of research indicated that the different types, intensity and volume of physical activity and the midlife physical activity had influenced on cognition of older adults positively, such as executive function, attention, process speed, memory and so on. In addition, the selectively improvement hypothesis, cardiovascular fitness hypothesis and physical activity/exercise-cognition model were used to explain the mechanism of the effect. All these findings have great significance for the preservation of cognitive function and the improvement of life quality of older adults, and delayed aging effectively.

Key words: physical activity, cognitive function, older adults