Abstract： Objective： To observe the clinical effect of electro- acupuncture for low back pain on the basis of point selection based on syndrome differentiation. Methods：A total of 189 cases of patients with low back pain were randomly divided into the control group and the observation group ， with 95 and 94 cases in each group respectively. The control group was treated with electro acupuncture at routine pain spots， and the observation group was treated with electro acupuncture on the basis of point selection based on syndrome differentiation. After two-week treatment，the clinical effects in the two groups were evaluated. Before and after treatment，the symptom scores，Short Form-36 Health Survey(SF-36) scores and levels of inflammatory factors in serum including interleukin-6(IL-6)，tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) were compared between the two groups. Results：The total effective rate was 98.94% in the observation group and 89.47% in the control group，there being significance in the difference (P＜0.05). Before treatment，there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of symptom scores including limited lumbar activity，weakness in the waist and knees，and lumbago between the two groups(P＞0.05)； after treatment， the above scores in the two groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05)，and each score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05). Before treatment， there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of the scores in SF- 36 including general health， social function， physical function， role function and cognitive function between the two groups(P＞0.05)；after treatment，each score in the two groups was increased when compared with that before treatment(P＜0.05)， and each score in the observation group was higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05). Before treatment， there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of levels of IL-6，TNF-α and IL-1β in serum between the two groups(P＞0.05)；after treatment，the levels of IL-6，TNF-α and IL-1β in the two groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05)，and each score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05). Conclusion： On the basis of point selection based on syndrome differentiation，the application of electro acupuncture for low back pain has a significant curative effect，which can effectively inhibit inflammatory responses in the body，and improve clinical symptoms and quality of life. Its curative effect is better than that of routine electro acupuncture at pain spots.