We considered all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy of chest physiotherapy for adult participants with any type of pneumonia. We included trials which also included other basic respiratory diseases, once pneumonia was diagnosed; we analysed such trials separately. We excluded trials in which physiotherapy was administered for the prevention of pneumonia, as pneumonia could occur in many conditions, such as trauma, cerebral vessels disease and post-operative conditions. We included both published and unpublished trials.