Background Following a workshop with people with multiple conditions, the Chronic Illness Alliance undertook a literature review to explore current literature about multiple conditions. Methods The literature search was performed using Medline, CINAHL, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library employing an extensive list of search terms and limited to English language journals between 1999 and 2009. Inclusion criteria for articles were those articles focussing on issues identified by consumers with more than one chronic illness and the health services working with them. Results The results reported in this article are definitions of multiple conditions, safety and quality of services, risks and benefits of treatments for multiple and rare conditions and coordination of services. Discussion The impact of multiple conditions or multimorbidities on health services has been researched internationally and identifies the barriers to good health care when multiple conditions are not recognized. While the issues for consumers with more than one condition are not well recognized, the barriers identified by the literature are of great importance to consumers. Conclusions This review demonstrates that services and policies in Australia require specific reforms to better meet the needs of people with multiple conditions.