Objective To investigate the efficacy of integrated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with Western medicine in treatment of diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) and its effect on serum inflammatory cytokine levels.Methods One hundred and sixty four IBS-D patients treated in Guangfu Hospital from July 2013 to August 2015 were randomly divided into study group and control group with 82 cases in each group.All patients received oral Saccharomyces boulardii 1.0 b.i.d, while patients in study group received additional Shuganjianpi decoction b.i.d for 4 weeks.The clinical efficacy was observed, serum IL-10, IFN-γ and TNF-α levels were measured in 2 groups.Results After treatment, the total score of clinical symptoms in study group was lower than that of control group [(5.71±1.41) vs.(11.70±2.88) points,t=16.707, P<0.01].Serum levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α in study group decreased significantly after treatment [IFN-γ (2.88±1.38) ng/L vs.(1.00±0.44) ng/L, t=11.609, P<0.01;TNF-α (41.26±5.29) ng/L vs.(24.13±3.27) ng/L,t=24.636, P<0.01], IL-10 significantly increased [(142.23±21.58) ng/L vs.(170.23±33.45) ng/L,t=6.291,P<0.01].The overall effective rate of study group was higher than that of control group, [87.50% (70/80) vs.68.75% (55/80), x2=8.228, P<0.01].After treatment, the quality of life scores in both groups were improved;but the improvement of diet, spirit, mood and sleep scores in study group were better than those in control group [(240±69) vs.(193±60), t=4.579, (316±74) vs.(230 ± 69), t=7.603, (297±62) vs.(228±59), t=7.211;(284±62) vs.(230±54), t=5.874, all P<0.01].Conclusion The efficacy of integrated traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine in treatment of IBS-D is significantly better than that of Western medicine alone, which may be associated with its regulatory effect on the serum inflammatory cytokine levels.