There are numerous literatures that report practical aspects of art psychotherapy. However, there are arguments that were raised about its interpretive meaning such as objectiveness and generalization. This study explores the effectiveness of art psychotherapy through a review of literature. The purposes of this study are following: First, the meaning of art psychotherapy and therapy process will be explored through the relationship between art and art psychotherapy. Secondly, the characteristic and effectiveness of art psychotherapy will be examined. Finally, this paper will review the effectiveness of art psychotherapy from former studies. This article investigates the characteristic and effectiveness of art psychotherapy through review of literature from formal studies internationally as well as the relationship between art and art psychotherapy. In addition, this article examines the effectiveness of art psychotherapy by reviewing 58 articles that were published in a Korean academic journal and 5 dissertations related to art psychotherapy during past decades. In the results, the effectiveness of art psychotherapy is revealed by art’s origin and the art work itself; in other words, therapeutic factors and validations. Furthermore, the field is needed to prove the effectiveness of therapy scientifically. At this point in time, various literature, resources, and studies of clinical cases provide substantial empirical evidence that supports the effectiveness of art psychotherapy.