OBJECTIVES Previous studies have suggested that adults with arthritis are less physically active than adults without arthritis. However, these studies were mostly based on crude prevalence comparisons and general physical activity recommendations. Our objectives were: 1) to examine the physical activity profile of adults with arthritis; 2) to compare physical activity in adults with arthritis with arthritis-specific activity recommendations; and 3) to identify key determinants of participation in physical activity. METHODS Using Statistics Canada's 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS, n=132,221), we determined frequency of participation in different types of activity and calculated amount (minutes/day) of daily physical activity for adults with self-reported, physician-diagnosed arthritis. Subjects met arthritis-specific physical activity recommendations if they fulfilled three criteria based on American College of Rheumatology guidelines: 1) total activity >15 minutes/day and participation in 2) aerobic exercise and 3) flexibility/strengthening exercise. Multiple logistic regression models were used to identify sociodemographic and health factors associated with meeting physical activity recommendations. RESULTS There were 23,503 subjects with reported physician-diagnosed arthritis (prevalence, 15.1%) in the CCHS. Of these, 61% performed >15 minutes/day of activity; the most frequently reported aerobic and flexibility/strengthening exercises were walking (65.7%) and home exercise (30.5%), respectively. Overall, 26% of subjects met arthritis-specific physical activity recommendations. Factors that were associated with meeting recommendations included being female (adjusted OR 1.16 [1.08-1.23]) and having post-secondary education (1.93 [1.78-2.09]). Negatively associated factors included smoking (0.62 [0.57-0.68]), and overweight (0.80 [0.74-0.86]) and obese status (0.58 [0.54-0.63]). CONCLUSIONS We found that 26% of adults with arthritis met specific activity recommendations. Examination of specific activities identified walking as an important contributor to aerobic and total activity in people with arthritis. In addition, evaluation of correlates of physical activity identified males, overweight or obese individuals and those with lower education levels as target groups for potential intervention strategies.