Objective To observe the influence of electroacupuncture on active rheumatoid arthritis（RA）patients and their quality of life.Methods The 63 patients were randomized into an electroacupuncture group（32 cases）and a control group（31 cases）.Both groups were treated with whole body and local point selection method.Electroacpuncture was additionally used in the treatment group.The effect was evaluated with ACR-20 and ACR-50 standards and changes of clinical symptoms

activity of pathological condition

health status

quality of life（including overall health

somatic function

physical functions

somatic pain

vitality

social functions

emotional functions

mental health）and inflammatory indexes（including ESR and C-reactive protein）before and after treatment were observed.Results After treatment

there were 22 cases（68.75%）reached ACR-20 standard and 6 cases（18.75%）reached ACR-50 standard in the electroacupuncture group

and 13 cases（41.94%）reached ACR-20 standard and 4 cases（12.90%）reached ACR-50 standard in the control group.There was no significant difference in number of cases to ACR-50 standard（P>0.05）

but there was a significant difference to ACR-20（P<0.05）.An obvious improvement of clinical symptoms

activity of pathological condition

and health status after treatment existed in both groups（P<0.05 or P<0.01）and the electroacupuncture group was better than the control group.All indices except emotional functions in the electroaccupuncture group were significantly improved（P<0.05 or P<0.01）

while in the control group an improvement showed in overall health

somatic function

somatic pain

vitality

and social functions（P<0.05）.In comparison

the electroacupuncture group was better in improving the somatic function

physical functions

somatic pain

and mental health than the control group（P<0.05）.Both groups had a significant improvement on ESR and C-reactive protein（P<0.01）after treatment.Conclusion Electroacupuncture can effectively relieve the pain of rheumatoid arthritis and improve the life quality of patients

and its overall effect is better than acupuncture treatment alone.