Occupation as a mean in therapy contributes to personal development, stimulates people’s senses, and generates positive energy, happiness and satisfaction. Creative activities might be one form of occupation that mediates these outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of creative activities in occupational therapy in Sweden and how often occupational therapists use creative activities as a means of intervention. A web-mail survey was sent to 2975 occupational therapists working in health care and 63 % answered the questionnaire, of these 44 % did use creative activities. The extent to which the respondents used creative activities varied; 48 % used creative activities once a week or more, 36 % once a month or more, and 14 % at some point every six months. There was a significant relationship between the level of health care the respondent worked at and use of creative activities. Creative activities were more often used by respondents working at county council, regional and “other” health care levels than by those working in primary health care or with vocational rehabilitation. Respondents who worked with patients in psychiatric rehabilitation used creative activities significantly more often than those working with patients in somatic rehabilitation, stressed patients/patients with chronic pain or other patients. Occupational therapists working in psychiatric rehabilitation reported using creative activities more frequently compared to the other areas of health care. No relationships were found between the use of creative activities and the variables gender or years of experience as occupational therapists. Further research should focus on more in-depth inquiries about how occupational therapists and their patients perceive the use of creative activities as a means of intervention in occupational therapy