To investigate the effect of acupuncture at Zusanli(ST 36) on gastrointestinal motility in the rats with collagen-induced arthritis(CIA).Methods:Sixty healthy Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats aged 3 months were randomly assigned into four groups:normal group,model group,electroacupuncture group,and hand acupuncture group,with 15 rats in each group.Electroacupuncture and hand acupuncture were respectively carried out at Zusanli(ST 36) for 15 min once a day for 14 days since the first day after modeling.On days 3,7,and 14,plantar circumference of each rat was measured.At the end of treatment,the pathological changes of knee joints were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining.The gastric emptying rate and intestinal propulsion rate were calculated,and the frequency of peristaltic waves in intestine was detected.The expression of corticotropin-releasing factor(CRF) and vasoactive intestinal peptide(VIP) in gastric mucosa was measured.Results:Compared with the normal group,the modeling caused the swelling of plantar joint(P<0.01),severe damage of cartilage tissue,and infiltration of inflammatory cells,decreased the gastric emptying rate and intestinal propulsion rate(P<0.01),and up-regulated the expression levels of CRF and VIP in gastric mucosa(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the acupuncture at Zusanli(ST 36) alleviated the plantar joint swelling(P<0.05),cartilage damage,and inflammatory cell infiltration,increased the gastric emptying rate and intestinal propulsion rate(P<0.05),accelerated intestinal peristalsis,and down-regulated the expression of CRF and VIP in gastric mucosa(P<0.05).In particular,hand acupuncture demonstrated better performance.Conclusion:Acupuncture at Zusanli(ST 36) can regulate intestinal motility disorder in CIA rats,and hand acupuncture has better therapeutic effect than electroacupuncture.