OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cost-utility of as-needed inhaled budesonide/formoterol versus budesonide maintenance therapy combined with as-needed inhaled terbutaline （hereinafter referred to as budesonide maintenance therapy） in patients with mild asthma from the perspective of the Chinese health service system. METHODS A Markov model of mild asthma was established based on an international multicenter randomized controlled clinical study （SYGMA 2 study）； the model cycle was one week， and the model had a whole horizon of 60 years. The cost only included direct medical cost， and utility value was derived from the data of EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level in the SYGMA 2 study and published literature. The total cost and total output of the above two inhalation therapies for patients with mild asthma were calculated， with discount rate of 5%. The stability of the model was evaluated by sensitivity analysis. RESULTS The total cost of as-needed inhaled budesonide/formoterol and budesonide maintenance therapy were 25 884 yuan and 45 822 yuan， respectively， and the effectiveness were 30.51 quality- adjusted life years （QALYs） and 30.50 QALYs， respectively. The former scheme was an absolute advantage. One-way sensitivity analyses showed that the price of drug （terbutaline and budesonide/formoterol） and average number of inhalations per day were the main influencing parameters， but they had little influence on the results of basic analysis. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that the probability of as-needed budesonide/formoterol being cost-effective was 100%. CONCLUSIONS Compared with budesonide maintenance therapy， as-needed inhalation of budesonide/formoterol in mild asthma patients is more cost-effective.