Objective To study the efficacy of electroacupuncture with liver-clearing spirit-quieting method and brain-settling spirit-quieting method for primary insomnia（PI） and the effect on sleep structure.Methods Eighty-two cases of PI were randomized into the liver-clearing spirit-quieting group（liver-clearing group） and brain-settling spirit-quieting group（brain-settling group）

with 41 in each.The liver-clearing group was given electroacupuncture on bilateral Taichong（LR3）

Zulinqi（GB41）

Shenmen（TF4） and Neiguan（PC6）.The brain-settling group was given electroacupuncture on Baihui（DU20）

Sishencong（EX-HN1）

Shenting（DU24） and bilateral Anmian（EX-HN）.Both groups were treated for 10 times as one treatment course.After treatment and in the follow-up period

the efficacy and scores of each factor and total score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index（PSQI） were evaluated in both groups.Results The total effective rate of the liver-clearing group and brain-settling group was 97.4% and 85.3% respectively

with no significant difference between groups（P>0.05）.In the follow-up period

the total effective rate of the liver-clearing group and brain-settling group was 97.4% and 70.7% respectively

with significant difference between groups（P<0.01）.After treatment and in the follow-up period

the factor scores of PSQI such as sleep quality

sleep latency

sleep time

sleep efficiency and daytime function decreased significantly in both groups（P<0.01）.After treatment

the scores of sleep disorders decreased significantly in the brain-settling group（P<0.01）.After treatment and in the follow-up period

the scores of sleep efficacy in the liver-clearing spirit-quieting group were significantly lower than those in the brain-settling group（P<0.01）.Conclusion Electroacupuncture with liver-clearing spirit-quieting method or brain-settling spirit-quieting method for PI is safe and effective

especially with brain-settling spirit-quieting method.