Introduction:The ICU intensive care unit is a place where there is exposure to risks of various natures, such as biological, physical, chemical and organizational. The physiotherapist in the ICU is a fundamental component of the interdisciplinary team for patient care. It is up to practitioners who practice physiotherapy to work on patient functionality. Method: This is a literary review of exploratory research, of a descriptive nature, based on original articles and review published in databases. The inclusion criteria used were books, online journals, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, published between 1998 and 2016. Objective: To describe the practical actions of physiotherapists in the face of the health risks faced in an ICU. Results: A total of 220 publications were found, with 18 publications that met the established criteria. We found information about the complexities of the ICU and the practice of the intensivist Physiotherapist, the risks and vulnerability of the physiotherapist in the ICU, standard precautions and the use of PPE. Final Thoughts: In the multidisciplinary team of the ICU the physiotherapist is an essential component to the aid to the seriously ill patient. Mobilization of the patient, removal of secretions and pulmonary reexpansion are the main methods used by these professionals in the ICU, as well as the performance in the adaptations and organization of mechanical ventilation, ventilatory weaning, and extubation in the unit. Thus, these professionals are constantly exposed to several risks in their care activities to patients ill in the ICU, both biological risks and physical risks and chemical risks.