Objective To investigate the effect of propofol or sevoflurane on the quality of neuromuscular blockade with cisatracurium during comparable depth of anesthesia in elderly patients.Methods A total of 60 patients aged over 60 years [classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status Ⅰ-Ⅱ] were selected.Patients were randomized into 2 groups:propofol group (induction of anesthesia with propofol) and sevoflurane group (induction of anesthesia with sevoflurane) (n=35,each).Neuromuscular blocking effect was monitored by muscle response to ulnar nerve stimulation.The rates of cisatracurium injection at different time points,time of loss of consciousness and the onset time of cisatracurium neuromuscular block were compared between the two groups.Results The rate of cisatracurium injection was significantly decreased at 60 minutes,90 min,120 min in sevoflurane group(29.82％,42.28％,37.15％),and the onset time of cisatracurium neuromuscular block was significantly shorter in sevoflurane group than in propofol group [(148.62±28.54)s vs (96.53±23.69)s,P＜0.05].Conclusions Compared with propofol,sevoflurane can greatly shorten the onset time of cisatracurium and enhance the effect of cisatracurium neuromuscular block with stable hemodynamics.