Background: People with intellectual disabilities have the same sexual needs as the rest of the population, but find the expression of sexuality complex. Methodology: A thorough review of the literature was conducted by searching CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (OVID), Swetswise, Wiley Online Library and PubMed electronic databases. Search terms used include: ‘intellectual disability’, ‘learning disability’, ‘sexuality’, ‘sexual knowledge’ and ‘sexual experience’. Results: Sixteen research studies of knowledge and experiences of sexuality in individuals with intellectual disabilities were found. Qualitative methodologies were adopted in 13 of these studies and a quantitative approach in three. Analysis of the 16 studies revealed three predominant themes: sexual knowledge, experiences of sexuality and relationships, and barriers to sexuality and relationships. Conclusions: People with intellectual disabilities tend to have poor sexual knowledge, and their sexual experiences tend to occur in unsafe environments due to restrictions in, and the prohibition of, relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]