Objective To compare the therapeutic effect of six-step manipulation and electroacupuncture for early knee osteoarthritis（KOA）.Methods Sixty KOA patients were randomized into treatment group and control group

with 30 in each.Six-step manipulation and electroacupuncture was given to the treatment group and control group respectively

once every other day

for 3 weeks.Six months later

the patients were followed up.Before and after treatment and in the follow-up period

the degree of pain was assessed with visual analog scale（VAS）.The symptoms such as pain walking

pain up and down stairs

range of flexion and swelling were scored with method proposed by Japanese Orthopaedic Association（JOA）.Results The excellent rate of the treatment group and control group was 36.17% and 16.00% respectively

with significant difference（P<0.05）.The total effective rate of the treatment group and control group was 91.49% and 86.00% respectively

with no significant difference between groups（P>0.05）.The differences in both excellent rate and total effective rate were not statistically significant between groups in the follow-up period（P>0.05）.The VAS scores were significantly decreased in both groups after treatment and in the follow-up period（P<0.01）

especially in the treatment group（P<0.05）.The JOA scores were significantly increased in both groups after treatment and in the follow-up period（P<0.01）.The scores of pain walking and pain up and down stairs were significantly increased in both groups in the follow-up period（P<0.01）

especially in pain up and down stairs in the treatment group as compared with the control group at the same time point（P<0.01）.Conclusion Both six-step manipulation and electroacupuncture are effective for early KOA patients

especially six-step manipulation.