Objective To observe the effect of athletic taping on shoulder subluxation in stroke patients with hemiplegia. Methods From March, 2017 to March, 2018, 40 stroke patients with hemiplegia were randomly divided into control group (n = 20) and experiment group (n = 20). They all accepted routine rehabilitation training, and the experiment group accepted athletic taping before the training. They were measured acromio-humeral distance (AHD) before and after four weeks of treatment. Meanwhile, the were assessed with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain, simplified Fugl-Meyer Assessment-upper extremity (FMA-UE) and Functional Comprehensive Assessment (FCA). Results AHD, and scores of VAS, FMA-UE and FCA improved in both the groups after treatment (Z > 3.508, t > 4.544, P < 0.001), and improved more in the scores of VAS, FMA-UE and FCA in the experiment group than in the control group (Z = -3.151, t > 2.843, P < 0.01). Conclusion Athletic taping can alleviate shoulder pain, promote upper limb functional recovery and improve the ability of daily living for stroke patients with hemiplegia.