Ankle foot orthosis (AFO) is frequently used to improve gait deviations in patients with hemiplegia. AFOs prevent foot drop in the swing phase and promote heel strike in the early stance phase of gait. →What this article adds: A variety of studies have reported the AFO is an effective tool for improving the gait pattern of hemiplegia patients. This study provided some guidelines to robustly report AFO interventions, mechanical characteristic of AFOs, and efficacy of AFOs' construction techniques, testing strategies and the outcomes.