Objective To compare the treatment effectiveness of AO/ASIF proximal femoral nail (PFN) and proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) in treatment of intertrochanterie fractures. Methods A retrospective study was done on 233 patients with intertroehanteric fractures treated from August 2004 to December 2006. The patients were divided into PFN group (188 patients) and PFNA group (45 patients) for comparing operative procedures and postoperative functional recovery. Results There was statistical difference in aspects of incision length, blood loss and operation time between two groups. The follow-up for 22.8 months showed excellence rate of 89.9% in PFN group and 91.1% in PFNA group, with statistical difference (X2 = 0.06, P > 0.05). There occurred hip varus in one patient and antirotation nail cutting-out in two in PFN group, which was not found in PFNA group. Conclusion PFN and PFNA are both good choices for treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. Compared with PFN, PFNA has more advantages in reducing operation time and blood loss especially for the eider patients with osteoporosis.