OBJECTIVETo grasp the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of primary insomnia (PI), and analyze its future research directions.

METHODSA total of 41 prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted in which the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for treatment of PI was compared with sedative and hypnotic drugs in recent six years by searching databases of CNKI, database, PubMed, and BioMed Central (BMC), the aspects of diagnostic criteria, efficacy standards, observation time, control drugs, characteristics of acupoint selection and regularity were used to review and analyse.

RESULTSAcupuncture treatment for PI was mainly based on acupoints in the head, combined with selecting the points according to the different syndrome, showing short-term efficacy and safety advantages, but it was not well-established in many aspects such as diagnostic criteria, efficacy evaluation, observation time, and control drugs.

CONCLUSIONCurrent evidence shows that acupuncture treatment is effective, but it is necessary to add more stringent RCTs, and introduce objective monitoring indicators to strengthen the evidence and enhance the overall level of research.