BACKGROUND:Although there are many studies addressing osteoarthritis in China, population-based epidemiological studies of knee osteoarthritis have been rarely reported. OBJECTIVE:To explore and analyze the clinical efficacy of early ladder-like treatment in knee osteoarthritis patients from Zoucheng city in the southwest of Shandong province based on an epidemiological investigation. METHODS: A total of 3 427 people randomly enroled from Zoucheng city located in the southwest of Shandong province in 2008 were taken as research objects. A self-designed epidemiological survey on knee osteoarthritis was carried out to analyze the sex, age, urban and rural distribution, and incidence of knee osteoarthritis. According to Kelgren Lawrence Grading, 208 patients with levels 0, I, II of knee osteoarthritis were randomly selected and divided into two groups: surgical treatment group was given intraarticular injection, intraarticular rinsing, arthroscopic treatment and functional exercise; oral drug group was only given oral administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and blood circulation drugs. Ninety-eight patients in the surgical treatment group and 87 in the oral drug group were folowed-up for over 1 year. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The incidence of knee osteoarthritis showed an increasing trend with aging in Zoucheng city. There were 33.2% patients who did not receive treatment, 53.2% patients who received irregular treatment, and only 13.6 patients who could folow the doctor’s advice. The excelent rate and total effective rate were higher in the surgical treatment group (81% and 99%) than the control group (34% and 87%;P < 0.01). This epidemiological investigation exerts a certain protective role in the occurrence and development of knee osteoarthritis, and active early ladder-like treatment has achieved good outcomes in patients with knee osteoarthritis.