Objective To compare the clinical therapeutic effect of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) in improving walking function in stroke patients.Methods Thirty-six stroke patients satisfying the enrolling criterion of the research were randomly divided into two groups:FES group and AFO group (n =18 in each).Both groups received the same routine rehabilitation therapy and medical treatment.Patients of FES group received FES of common peroneal nerve and tibialis anterior muscle of the affected limb,30 min per day,5 days per week,4 weeks in total,while the patients of AFO group received walking training with AFO wearing on,30 min per day,5 days per week,4 weeks in total.Walking function was assessed by 10-meter maximum walking speed,timed-up and go test (TUGT),functional ambulation category(FAC),the muscle tension of ankle flexor and Brunnstrom stage,which were carried out before treatment and four weeks after treatment.Results Before treatment,there was no significant difference between the two groups for the baseline of measurement(P ＞ 0.05).After 4 weeks of treatment,10MWT,TUGT,FAC scores and Brunnstrom stages in the two groups significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05).The 10MWT,FAC scores and Brunnstrom stage increased more significantly in FES group than those in AFO group (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant differences with regard to TUGT and the muscle tension of ankle flexor between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Both FES and AFO can accelerate the recovery of walking function in hemiplegia patients.FES can improve the walking ability in patients with stroke more significantly.