Abstract：Objective：To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture with thick needle at Danzhong point (CV 17) to assist in improving difficulty in weaning from ventilator during acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods： A total of 100 cases of AECOPD patients with difficulty in weaning from ventilator were selected as the study subjects and divided into the control group and the observation group according to the two- color ball random method，with 50 cases in each group. The control group was given the adjuvant treatment of external diaphragm pacemaker，and the observation group was additionally treated with acupuncture with thick needle at Danzhong point based on the treatment of the control group. The ventilator weaning time， weaning success rates， and 28- day mortality rates were compared between the two groups. Before and after treatment， the diaphragmatic function， lung function，blood gas indexes，and oxygenation indexes were compared between the two groups. Results： The ventilator weaning time in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group (P＜0.05)， the weaning success rate was higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05)，and the 28-day mortality rate was lower than that in the control group (P＜0.05). At baseline，there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of the diaphragm mobility (DE) and the percentage of predicted value of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1% ) between the two groups (P＞0.05). At the endpoint， DE and FEV1% in two groups were increased (P＜0.05)，and DE and FEV1% in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05). At baseline，there was no significant difference being found in the comparison of partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2)， partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2)， and oxygenation index (OI) between the two groups (P＞0.05). At the endpoint，PaO2，and OI in the two groups were increased (P＜0.05)， and PaCO2 was decreased (P＜0.05)； PaO2 and OI in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05)，and PaCO2 was lower than that in the control group (P＜0.05). Conclusion： Acupuncture with thick needle at Danzhong point for AECOPD can improve blood gas indexes， enhance diaphragmatic function， lung function and OI， shorten ventilator weaning time， increase weaning success rates，and reduce 28-day mortality rate.