I review the basic observational properties of accreting millisecond pulsars
that are important for understanding the physics involved in formation of their
pulse profiles. I then discuss main effects responsible for shaping these
profiles. Some analytical results that help to understand the results of
simulations are presented. Constraints on the pulsar geometry and the neutron
star equation of state obtained from the analysis of the pulse profiles are
discussed.Comment: Invited review, to appear in the proceedings of the workshop 'A
Decade of Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsars' (Amsterdam, April 2008
