Physical therapy involves the study of the movement of man as a fundamental factor in his development, in addition to allowing for the movement of different body segments and changes in different body positions, movement is a fundamental element for the interaction between people and the execution of activities related to people’s lives. For this reason, physical therapists should be interested not only in intervention plans, but also in understanding the importance of initiating such interventions with adequate diagnosis of the health condition in question, of the movement of their subjects, and in their adequate professional performance. Consistent with this approach, this article attempts to highlight the importance of the analysis of movement as a fundamental element of the physical therapy diagnosis, utilizing a review of the topic which includes an analysis of gait from its kinematic components, as a pattern of movement essential to humans.