In recent years, the relations between the physical exercise and the rehabilitation of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a hot topic on the research frontier. However, most of the existing studies analyzed the effects of the physical exercise on the autism only from a single behavioral perspective, without an adequate consideration of the multi-level evidence and the integration of them, leaving the relationship between them unclear. This paper explores the effects of the physical exercise on the autism from the perspective of "Brain" and "Mind", and it is found that the physical exercise improves the "mind"of the autism patients mainly in five aspects:the motor disorder, the executive function, the academic achievement, the emotional behavior and the core symptoms; and the physical exercise improves the"brain"of the autism patients mainly in three areas:the molecular, the cellular and the systemic levels of the brain. A multi-level, multi-disciplinary and relatively complete chain of evidences for the relationship between the physical exercise and the autism is thus integrated. Finally, in view of the existing research trends and the practical needs, three main directions for the future research are pointed out:1) build a theoretical system of improving "brain and mind" of the autism patients through the physical exercise; 2) construct a physical exercise intervention model for the synergistic improvement of "brain and mind" of the autism patients; and 3) further promote the interdisciplinary research.

physical exercise  /  autism spectrum disorder  /  autism  /  brain and mind