Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with Modified Zuojin Granules in treating reflux esophagitis(RE)with liver-stomach disharmony syndrome.Methods A total of 100 patients diagnosed with liver-stomach disharmony syndrome RE were enrolled from October 2022 to October 2024 at Zigong First People's Hospital.The patients were randomly assigned to the observation group and the control group,with 50 cases in each group.The control group was treated with Modified Zuojin Granules,while the observation group was given acupuncture plus Modified Zuojin Granules,both group were treated for 4 weeks.The changes in the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores,24-hour esophageal acid reflux parameters(frequency and longest duration),serum gastrointestinal hormones[gastrin(GAS),motilin(MTL),vasoactive intestinal peptide(VIP)],gut microbiota composition(Lactobacillus,Bifidobacterium,Enterococcus,Enterobacter)were observed.The adverse reactions and safety profiles were evaluated.Results(1)Both groups showed significant improvement in TCM syndrome scores(P＜0.05),with greater improvement in the observation group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,both groups of patients showed significant improvements in the number of gastric reflux episodes in the oesophagus over 24 hours and the longest reflux duration(P＜0.05).The observation group demonstrated significantly better improvements in the number of gastric reflux episodes in the oesophagus over 24 hours and the longest reflux duration compared to the control group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).(3)After treatment,the serum levels of GAS,MTL,and VIP in both groups of patients were significantly improved(P＜0.05).The observation group showed significantly better improvement in serum GAS,MTL,and VIP levels compared to the control group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).(4)After treatment,the levels of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in both groups increased significantly compared to before treatment(P＜0.05),while the levels of Enterococci and Enterobacteria were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The improvement in intestinal microbiota levels was more pronounced in the observation group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).(5)The overall efficacy rate was 96.00％(48/50)in the observation group and 80.00％(40/50)in the control group.The observation group demonstrated superior efficacy compared to the control group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).(6)The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 8.00％(4/50),while that in the control group was 12.00％(6/50).There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion The combined therapy significantly improves clinical symptoms,modulates gastrointestinal hormones and gut microbiota,demonstrating excellent efficacy and safety for liver-stomach disharmony syndrome RE.