The present study describes the development and validation of an instrument designed to examine athletes' selective attention returning to competition following a musculoskeletal injury--the attention questionnaire of rehabilitated athletes returning to competition (AQ-RARC). Using a sample of 186 rehabilitated athletes, exploratory factor analysis revealed a 10-item model that examines functional attention and distraction attention. Confirmatory factor analysis further supported the factorial validity of the AQ-RARC with another sample of 184 rehabilitated athletes. The two subscales have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The concurrent and discriminant validity of the new instrument were confirmed by examining correlations between the AQ-RARC with other constructs. It is concluded that the AQ-RARC is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used for clinical and research purposes.