The aesthetic appealvof marine reserves and the facilities provided, together with the increased public awareness of nature, all contibute to creating massive tourism in MPAs. Human activities are being changed inside MPAs in two ways : humans as top predators are generally being removed, but in tunrn they could come back at great numbers as vistors.Many authors have studied the impact of visitors, and the results highlight that the consequances can be very substantial and may reprensent a severe threat to the overall diversity of marine communities. To date, the documented effects of human recreationnal activities on natural communities are restricted to assessing the consequences of trampling over tidal and upper infralittoral areas, boat anchoring in seagrass meadows and tropical reefs, or SCUBA-diving.In this paper, we review the available litterature world-wide on the effects of human recreationnal activites in marine communities. The objective is to adress the extent of theses impacts and to highloght the gaps of knowledge to be filled in order to optimise decision making on research, monitoring, and management of Mediterranean MPAs. A specific plan for managing tourism use in each Mediterranean MPA should be designated. Tehses strategies should be implemented through education, training, and changes in legislation and policy.