Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of thumbtack needle acupuncture in treating sympathetic cervical spondylosis.Methods Seventy-seven patients with sympathetic cervical spondylosis were randomly allocated to a treatment group of 37 cases and a control group of 40 cases. The same acupoints were selected in the two groups. The treatment group received thumbtack needle acupuncture and the control group, conventional acupuncture. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups after two courses of treatment.Results The total efficacy rate was 91.9% in the treatment group and 92.5% in the control group; there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).Conclusions Thumbtack needle acupuncture s is an effective way to treat sympathetic cervical spondylosis. The patients have good compliance.