Objective:To investigate the efficacy of nourishing feeding in patients with acute respiratory failure.Methods:One hundred patients with acute respiratory failure who received treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China from December 2018 to March 2020 were included in this study. They were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group ( n = 50/group). After admission, all patients were actively treated and given enteral nutritional support. The gastric tube was indwelled. The head of the bed was elevated by 30-40°. The control group was given enteral nutrition which could reach the target dose within 2 days. The observation group was given nourishing feeding. Before and after 7 days of treatment, serum levels of hemoglobin (Hb), albumin (ALB) and total plasma protein as well as white blood cell and lymphocyte counts were determined. Intestinal tolerance was monitored during the treatment period. Mechanical ventilation time, length of intensive care unit stay, total hospital stay, and infection were compared between the control and observation groups. The number of deaths within 60 days after admission was recorded. Results:After treatment, serum levels of ALB, Hb and total plasma protein in the observation group were (49.86 ± 2.41) g/L, (134.96 ± 9.23) g/L, (54.18 ± 3.96) g/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group [(42.34 ± 2.29) g/L, (127.49 ± 6.11) g/L, (42.86 ± 2.88) g/L, ( t = 15.99, 4.77, 16.35, all P < 0.01). After treatment, serum levels of ALB, Hb and total plasma protein in each group were significantly increased compared with before treatment (all P < 0.05). After treatment, white cell count in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [(7.96 ± 1.06) × 10 9/L vs. (10.27 ± 2.35) × 10 9/L, t = 6.34, P < 0.01]. Lymphocyte count in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [(1.19 ± 0.47) × 10 9/L vs. (1.02 ± 0.34) × 10 9/L, t = 2.07, P = 0.04]. After treatment, white cell count in each group was significantly decreased, and lymphocyte count in each group was significantly increased compared with before treatment (both P < 0.05). Intestinal intolerance rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (22.0% vs. 52.0%, χ2 = 9.65, P < 0.01). The duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit stay and total hospital stay in the observation group were (14.75 ± 5.36) d, (15.81 ± 6.28) d and (24.94 ± 7.18) d, respectively, which were significantly shorter than those in the control group [(18.69 ± 8.64) d, (27.96 ± 8.44) d and (29.84 ± 8.65) d, t = 2.74, 8.17 and 3.08, all P < 0.01]. The infection rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (24.0% vs. 44.0%, χ2 = 4.46, P = 0.03). Conclusion:Nourishing feeding for enteral nutrition in patients with acute respiratory failure can better improve the nutritional status, reduce the level of systemic inflammation, improve the immune function, can be tolerated by the intestine, avoid infection, and promote the rehabilitation of patients with acute respiratory failure.