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BACKGROUND: Neonatal jaundice is a clinical condition in infants characterized by yellow staining of the skin and sclera due to the accumulation of excess unconjugated bilirubin. This is the leading cause of death in life in 60% -80% of newborns. We aimed to investigate the effects of exercise on neonates with jaundice who were undergoing phototherapy. METHODS: In this quasi eksperimental study, through quota sampling, 34 full term neonates with jaundice admitted for phototherapy were selected. Subjects were assigned to exercise and control group. Exercise was offered by using baby oil about 15-20 minutes on extremities twice a day for 3 days and the control group did not received any exercise. Statistics analysis used independent t test and mann whitney test. Demographic and clinical characteristics, vital sign, the defecation frequency, total feeding amount and body weight collected and compared between two groups. RESULTS: On the third day, the exercise group showed significantly higher defecation frequency (p=0.000) and not significant for vital sign (heart rate p=0.583; temperature p=0.807; respiration rate p=0.029), enteral feeding (p=0.202) and body weight (p=0.181) compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: Exercise could help to increase defecation frequency in neonates receiving phototherapy for jaundice.