This paper reviews the work carried out in the field of reconfigurable antennas, and in specific the reconfigurable MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) antennas. The application of MEMS to antennas is studied and compared with the various implementations such as pattern reconfigurable MEMS antennas, mechanically actuated MEMS antennas, capacitive MEMS antennas and MEMS phased array antennas, as reported by research groups in the field. Finally a design is described, driven by the objectives of low power, high efficiency, linear operation and real time frequency and space diversity reconfiguration.