Objective To observe the effect of early food intake for the patients undergoing orthopedic surgery under intravertebral anesthesia or general anesthesia.Methods A total of 52 cases of orthopedic surgeries under intravertebral anesthesia or general anesthesia from the orthopedic department in the First Hospital of Tsinghua University were randomly divided into an experiment group (n=30) and control group (n=22).The experiment group followed the orders of their doctor,allowed to eat food any time after the anesthesia wore off (without exhaustion beforehand) and the control group was asked to eat after 6～8h.The two groups were compared in terms of the first time for exhaustion,the feeding amount for the first time and the symptoms for the first time.Results The first time for exhaustion in the experiment group was earlier than that of the control group,showing significant difference between them (P＜0.05).The amount of food intake of the two groups was insignificantly different (P＞0.05).After the first feeding,the patients in the experiment group had no nausea/vomiting and abdominal distension,and the incidence of thirst and hunger was significantly lower in the experiment group than that in the control group (P＜0.05).The discharge time was significantly earlier than that in the control group (P＜0.05).Conclusion It is feasible for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery to eat food early.Patients are able to eat food once they are conscious and it is not necessary to wait until gastrointestinal function fully recovered.