Human activity recognition (HAR) systems attempt to automatically identify and analyze human activities using acquired information from various types of sensors. Although several extensive review papers have already been published in the general HAR topics, the growing technologies in the field as well as the multi-disciplinary nature of HAR prompt the need for constant updates in the field. In this respect, this paper attempts to review and summarize the progress of HAR systems from the computer vision perspective. Indeed, most computer vision applications such as human computer interaction, virtual reality, security, video surveillance and home monitoring are highly correlated to HAR tasks. This establishes new trend and milestone in the development cycle of HAR systems. Therefore, the current survey aims to provide the reader with an up to date analysis of vision-based HAR related literature and recent progress in the field. At the same time, it will highlight the main challenges and future directions.