Objective To observe therapeutic effects of Yidianyin treating patients suffering from steroid-dependent idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura（ ITP） and its possible mechanism. Methods Divided 60 cases of steroiddependent ITP patients randomly into treatment group and control group

with 30 cases each. Set another 10 cases of healthy volunteers as healthy group. Treatment group was given Yidianyin orally

one dose daily

while control group was given normal immunosuppressor

all based on maintaining intrinsic glucocorticoid dosage and starting to withdraw glucocorticoid. Patients with no curative effects at the third month were excluded. Patients having got curative effects continued the treatment until the sixth month. Compared glucocorticoid dosage and withdrawal rate

positive rate of peripheral blood lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptor（ GR）（ including subtypes GRαand GRβ） of patients in both groups before and after treatment

and determined its clinical curative effects. Results Effects of treatment group were all superior to that of control group at the third and the sixth month after treatment（ P < 0. 05）. The success rate of glucocorticoid withdrawal of treatment group was 76. 67%

with that of control group was 26. 67%

in which treatment group was remarkably superior to control group（ P < 0. 05）. Glucocorticoid dosage of treatment group three and six months after treatment remarkably decreased compared with that before treatment（ P < 0. 05）. Peripheral blood lymphocyte GRα of patients in two groups before treatment all decreased compared with that of healthy group

with GRβ remarkably increased（ P < 0. 05）. Three months after treatment GRα expression of patients in two groups increased compared with that before treatment（ P < 0. 05）

with that of treatment group higher than that of control group（ P < 0. 05）. Conclusion Yidianyin could decreased glucocorticoid dosage of steroid-dependent ITP patients

promote success of glucocorticoid withdrawal. Its mechanism may be related with the increase of expression of GRα of peripheral blood lymphocyte.