OBJECTIVETo investigate the recommendations of acupuncture therapy in foreign clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) so as to understand the situation of foreign acupuncture guidelines and provide the suggestions on the development of acupuncture CPGs.

METHODSA total of 5 website authorities were retrieved with the key words as "acupuncture" "moxibustion" "acupressure" and "electroacupuncture".

RESULTSA total of 93 papers on CPGs had been searched, of which, the most CPGs were collected in the National Guidelines Clearinghouse (NGC). 68 papers were screened according to the requirement of CPGs, with 26 diseases and symptoms included. Since 2012, CPGs on acupuncture therapies have increased remarkably. Regarding the recommendations on acupuncture, there were 35 papers recommending acupuncture, about accounting for 51.5%. Of them, 1 paper strongly recommended and 10 papers were against recommendation. There was no CPG for moxibustion recommendation.

CONCLUSION① The foreign recommendations are weak and brief on acupuncture. The qualities of CPGs are various among countries, which results in the limit guidance in clinical practice. The specific acupuncture CPG should be developed so as to guide the clinical strategy on acupuncture more effectively. ② There are apparent limitations on the involved diseases between those mentioned in foreign CPGs and those in the treatment in foreign countries. Being the origin of acupuncture, China should proactively develop the advantages on acupuncture treatment and participate in the development of international CPGs. ③ The recommendation on moxibustion therapy is lack. In future research, the evaluation on the safety and effectiveness should draw attention.