Abstract： Objective： To observe the clinical effect of Xuanfei Tiaochang Pescription combined with western medicine for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by sepsis in elderly patients with drinking cessation and heat retention syndrome. Methods：A total of 92 cases of elderly patients with ARDS caused by sepsis with drinking cessation and heat retention syndrome were selected and divided into the observation group and the control group according to the random number table method，with 46 cases in each group. The control group was treated with comprehensive western medicine treatment， and the observation group was additionally treated with Xuanfei Tiaochang Pescription based on the treatment of the control group. Both groups were treated for 14 days. The clinical effects，traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores，blood gas indexes，and inflammatory indexes were compared between the two groups. Results：After treatment，the total effective rate was 95.65% in the observation group，higher than that of 82.61% in the control group (P＜0.05). The scores of main symptoms and secondary symptoms， and the total scores of TCM syndromes in the two groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)，and the scores of main symptoms and secondary symptoms，and the total scores of TCM syndromes in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05). Arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) and PaO2 / the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) in the two groups were increased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)； PaO2 and PaO2 / FiO2 in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05)， and PaCO2 in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P＜0.05). The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6)， interleukin-7 (IL - 7)， and tumor necrosis factor - α (TNF - α) in serum in the two groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and the levels of IL-6， IL-7， and TNF - α in serum in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05). Conclusion：Xuanfei Tiaochang Pescription combined with western medicine has a definite curative effect in the treatment of ARDS caused by sepsis with drinking cessation and heat retention syndrome， which can effectively improve clinical symptoms， improve oxygenation function and reduce the degree of inflammatory responses.