Objective To compare the effect of the three-step acupuncture method and the ordinary acupuncture method on periarthritis of shoulder.Methods Seventy-eight cases were randomized into a treatment（three-step acupuncture）group and a control（ordinary acupuncture）group with 39 in each.Both groups were treated 6 days as one course and the effect was evaluated after 4 courses of treatment with the comparison of the shoulder joint movement related pain

tender spots

and the changes in the shoulder joint movement in the two groups.Results The total effective rate was 94.74% in the treatment group which was better than 85.71% in the control group with significant difference between（P<0.05）.After treatment

the shoulder joint movement related pain

tender spots

and the scores of the shoulder joint movement in both groups were all significantly improved（P<0.05 or P<0.01）

and the improvement in the treatment group was more significant than that in the control group（P<0.05）.Conclusion The three-step acupuncture method was superior to the ordinary acupuncture method in the effect for periarthritis of shoulder in quick effect of stopping pain and improvement of joint movement.