Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 52 2 2023 01 30 371 380 Myeong-Hun Bae Department of Elementary Education, Korea National University of Education, Cheongju, Republic of Korea 2022 12 20 2023 01 30 Background: This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of a virtual reality-based physical education program on physical fitness among Korean elementary school students. Methods: The study, conducted at a public school in South Korea in the second semester of 2022, included experimental and control groups of 45 participants each (N=90). All participants underwent physical fitness tests before and after the experiment. The students assigned to the experimental group participated in the virtual reality-based physical education program three times a week for a total of 8 weeks (40 minutes per session), while those assigned to the control group did not participate in any exercise program. The effect size was confirmed using Cohen's d, and a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze changes in physical factors before and after the experiment for each group. Results: Among the male participants, we observed significant differences in overall health-related physical fitness, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and power between the experimental and control groups (P<0.05). Among the female participants, we observed significant differences in overall health-related physical fitness, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and muscular strength and endurance between the groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Virtual reality-based physical education may help to improve indicators of physical fitness among elementary school students, especially among those who have experienced deterioration of physical fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results, therefore, highlight the need to establish virtual reality-based physical education facilities at the elementary school level in Korea.   https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/30723 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/30723/7862