One of the goals of physical education as a mandatory curricular component of basic education is to train motivated individuals and adhere to body practices, relating them with pleasure, thus developing positive attitudes towards them. The literature presents studies with different methodologies and theoretical frameworks to address students’ lack of interest in physical education classes. In general, the approach of the theme in high school prevails, because in the light of scientific evidence until then, it constituted the level of education in which disinterest was accentuated and was effectively more evident in extension and intensity, that is, it occurs in several realities and consistently. This article aimed to list the reasons for students’ lack of interest in physical education classes found in the literature, presenting them in a categorized way. It was a bibliographic research, of a qualitative nature in which a narrative literature review was chosen. Analyzing the results of research that looked at the theme, common reasons are identified that lead students to avoid participating in physical education classes, which in general refer to past experiences, the curricular development of the discipline, and socio-demographic issues, the perception of skill / competence, social relations and school management and structure. The contribution of this article is in the possibility of guiding teachers in the elaboration of didactic-pedagogical teaching strategies that contemplate the issues that positively influence students’ engagement, participation, and learning.