There are studies that have evidence for and are against to suggest that some of the complementary and alternative medicines(CAM) are effective against rheumatoid arthritis(RA).However,there are no adequate studies that have evaluated the role that can be played by CAM in the management of RA. A focused approach in defining the role and limitation as well as the possible adverse events and safety should help in integrating both CAM and mainstream treatment of RA.This review discussed the limitations in the available literature and the direction for future research,which can accelerate the defining role of CAM in RA. There are studies that have evidence for and are against to suggest that some of the complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are effective against rheumatoid arthritis (RA) .However, there are no adequate studies that have as the role that can be played by CAM in the management of RA. A focused approach in defining the role and limitation as well as the possible adverse events and safety should help in integrating both CAM and mainstream treatment of RA. This review discussed the limitations in the available literature and the direction for future research, which can accelerate the defining role of CAM in RA.