OBJECTIVES: The SF-36 and SF-12 are generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments used in many areas of research, including spinal cord injury (SCI). Repeated concerns have been raised within the broader disability literature about the appropriateness of such measures for subjects with significant physical impairment, yet continued use is widespread. This systematic review provides a comprehensive descriptive overview of how the SCI research community has adopted variants of the ‘short form’ HRQoL instruments.  METHODS: A systematic database and bibliographic search was conducted to identify SCI-related publications reporting outcome data using a HRQoL instrument related to the 36-item and 12-item short form measures (e.g. SF-36, SF-12, RAND-36, RAND-12, SF-6D). Three descriptive considerations formed the basis of the analysis; 1) the frequency of use across identified variants; 2) the degree to which instruments have been administered as partial measures (i.e. selective use of items or domains); and 3) a summary of data collection methodology.  RESULTS: One hundred seventy-four articles met the selection criteria. In total, 9 variants were identified; the SF-36 was the most widely used complete measure (n=76), followed by the SF-12 (n=24), SF-6D (n=4), RAND-36 (n=1), and VR-36 (n=2). Partial use of instruments was common (n=54); some studies identified limitations regarding the Physical Functioning scale and tested modified measures (n=13), such as the SF-36E and the SF-36WW. Data collection methodology was often ambiguous or missing (n=65).  CONCLUSIONS: The SF-36 is a common HRQoL measure within SCI research, despite oft-cited concerns regarding its measurement properties. Attempts to add, delete or modify items have resulted in a large number of variants, often with minimal supportive psychometric evidence. Using established generic outcome measures is appealing because it enables comparisons to be made across clinical specialties. However, the trade-off between comparability and context-specific validity requires further explicit consideration within the SCI research.