OBJECTIVE: To establish a proper experimental model of bone cancer pain in rat for acupuncture research, and observe the pain-relieving effect of electroacupuncture (EA) and/or Celebrex on bone cancer pain in rats. METHODS: The rat model of bone cancer pain was established by percutaneous direct puncture technique and inoculating the rat mammary gland carcinoma cells Walker 256 into tibial medullary cavity directly, and evaluated by detecting the bone tumor growth and mechanical allodynia. The effects of daily EA treatment and/or Celebrex treatment on the rat mechanical allodynia after intratibial Walker 256 inoculation was observed in this study. RESULTS: Significant mechanical allodynia in ipsilateral hind paw and tumor growth in proximal end of tibial bone of rats in the untreated group were observed after intratibial Walker 256 inoculation. The mechanical allodynia thresholds in rats that received EA or 5 mg/(kg.d) Celebrex treatment showed no significant difference as compared with that of rats in the untreated group. However, the mechanical allodynia thresholds of rats in 10 mg/(kg.d) Celebrex group showed significant increase after 22- and 26-day treatment as compared with that in the methyl cellulose (MC) group. There was significant difference between rats with EA combined with 5 mg/(kg.d) Celebrex treatment and rats in the untreated group after 10-, 18- and 23-day treatment. CONCLUSION: EA and 5 mg/(kg.d) Celebrex have synergistic effect on pain relieving and their combined use may enhance the analgesic effect on bone cancer pain.