Objective To investigate the effects of acupuncture rehabilitation techniques combined with Xingnaojing injection on functional recovery and the plasam level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (STBI).Methods Eighty-four patients with STBI admitted to Department of Neurosurgery in Jiuquan People's Hospital from October 2013 to December 2015 were enrolled,they were divided into observation group (44 cases) and control group (40 cases) by random number table,all patients received the routine basic treatment,such as decreasing intracranial pressure,anti-infection,neural nutrition therapy,etc.In addition,the observation group was treated with acupuncture rehabilitation training (each training 50 minutes,1-2 times a day,10 times as a course of treatment,a total of 5 courses) and Xingnaojing injection (in 0.9％ normal saline or 5％ glucose injection 250 mL intravenous infusion,one time a day,10 days as a course of treatment,a total of 3 courses).The evaluation score of Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA),Modified Barthel index (MBI),Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) of motor function score and the plasma levels of GFAP and myelin basic protein (MBP) were measured before and after treatment in the two groups.Results After treatment,the MoCA,MBI and FMA scores were significantly higher in two groups than those before treatment (all P ＜ 0.05),the contents of MBP and GFAP were significantly lower than those before treatment,and the changes in observation group were more significant than those in control group [visual space and execution capability (score):4.99 ± 0.67 vs.3.42 ± 0.73,denomination capability (score):2.98 ± 0.77 vs.2.84 ± 0.47,delayed memory (score):5.76± 0.33 vs.3.87± 2.08,attention (score):6.17± 0.65 vs.4.75 ± 0.81,speech capability (score):3.51 ± 0.46 vs.2.04 ± 0.13,abstract thinking capability (score):2.94 ± 0.27 vs.1.58 ± 0.96,orientation force (score):6.02±0.65 vs.4.88±0.62,FMA score:68.71 ±34.17 vs.41.13 ± 14.82,MBI score:69.12± 10.45vs.37.63±6.11,MBP (μg/L):1.32±0.23 vs.5.31±0.79,GFAP (μg/L):0.19±0.08 vs.0.39±0.04,all P ＜0.05].Conclusions Acupuncture rehabilitation training combined with Xingnaojing injection may obviously improve the cognitive and motor functions in patients suffered from STBI,and clinically the combined treatment is worthwhile to be used extensively.