To investigate the effects of smoothing the liver to remove stagnancy of liver qi on serum IL-6, NPY and negative emotion in perimenopausal women with insomnia of liver depression pattern. Methods:Ninety patients with perimenopausal insomnia who were admitted and treated in Dingzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from March 2012 to July 2016 were selected, and randomly divided into control group (n=45) and study group (n=45) by using lot method. The control group was treated with Zopiclone, and the study group was treated with Shugan Jieyu capsule based on conventional treatment, and 2 groups were treated for 4 weeks. Polysomnography index and SAS score were recorded. The SDS levels of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, NPY and 5-HT were detected in serum and clinical efficacy and complications were compared. Results:Compared with the state before treatment, the total sleep time, REM sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, awakening time, SAS score and SDS score decreased in 2 groups, levels of serum IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α decreased, and levels of serum NPY, 5-HT increased (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the total time of sleep, REM sleep time, higher sleep efficiency, sleep latency and awakening in the study group were lower, levels of serum IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α were lower, and levels of serum NPY, 5-HT were higher (P<0.05). The effective rate was 83.33% (33/45) in the control group, which was lower than 91.11% (41/45) of study group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion:Shugan Jieyu capsule was effective in reducing the serum IL-6 and improving the level of NPY, improving the negative emotion and high safety, and which is worthy of promoting.