Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Yangyin Qingfei Decoction（yin-nourishing lung-clearing decoction） for female adult acne and its possible therapeutic targets.Methods Sixty-three cases of grade II to grade III female adult acne were randomized into the treatment group（33 cases） and control group（30 cases）.The treatment group was given Yangyin Qingfei Decoction orally and the control group was given Tanshinone Capsule orally.Ten healthy volunteers were chosen as controls.The skin lesions and TCM syndromes were observed after 8 weeks.The serum dihydrotestosterone（DHT）

interleukin-6（IL-6） and IL-8 were detected before and after treatment.Results The total effective rate of the treatment group and control group was 96.97% and 93.33% respectively

with no significant difference between groups（P>0.05）.The excellent rate of the treatment group and control group was 84.85% and 43.33% respectively

with a significant difference between groups（P<0.05）.The excellent rate of grade II acne in the treatment group and control group was 85.00% and 43.75% respectively

with a significant difference between groups（P<0.05）.The excellent rate of grade III acne in the treatment group and control group was 84.62% and 42.86% respectively

with a significant difference between groups（P<0.05）.The total scores and associated symptom scores in both groups were significantly decreased after treatment（P<0.01）.The total score and scores of stool

upset and insomnia in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group（P<0.01）.The levels of DHT

IL-6 and IL-8 in both groups were significantly higher than those of the healthy volunteers before treatment（P<0.05）.The levels of DHT

IL-6 and IL-8 in both groups were significantly decreased after 8 weeks of treatment（P<0.05）

with no significant difference comparing with the healthy volunteers（P>0.05）.Conclusion Yangyin Qingfei Decoction is effective for female adult acne that may be relevant to reducing serum DHT

IL-6 and IL-8.