Abstract: The acute effect of minimalist shoes on foot and ankle biomechanics of habitual heel strike runners without experience of wearing minimalist shoes has been explored. A three-dimensional motion capture system (Vicon) and a force plate (Kistler) were used to capture kinematic and kinetic data of the ankle joint. Ten rearfoot strike runners were enrolled in this study. Three shoe conditions were barefoot, minimalist shoes and traditional running shoes. Results show that runners had a lower vertical average and peak loading rate in barefoot condition than minimalist shoes. Runners had a lower foot strike angle in the condition of minimalist shoes, and runners with minimalist shoes had an increased inversion angle of the ankle joint compared to the traditional running shoes at initial contact. In addition, the maximum ankle joint inversion angle was increased significantly. Vertical average loading rate, peak loading rate and peak Achilles tendon force were increased when running with minimalist shoes during the stance phase. Therefore, wearing minimalist shoes can protect the foot without changing the footstrike pattern of habitual rearfoot strike runners during running compared to the barefoot condition. On the other hand, compared with traditional running shoes, the risk of fatigued injuries such as tibial stress fractures, Achilles tendon injuries and ankle sprains will be increased when running with minimalist shoes.