OBJECTIVES: To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture in treatment of oculomotor nerve palsy guided by Biaoben Genjie theory (focusing on the distribution, connection and gathering of meridian METHODS: A total of 62 patients with oculomotor nerve palsy were selected according to inclusion criteria of the trial. They were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, with 31 cases in each group. The conventional treatment with Western medicine was used in the two groups. Besides, in the control group, the regular acupuncture was provided, and in the observation group, acupuncture was delivered under the guidance of Biaoben Genjie theory. In the 2 groups, the treatment was given once daily, for 30 min each time and one course of treatment was composed of 6 d. Six courses were required with the interval of 1 d between two courses. The degree of diplopia, the degree of strabismus and the score of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) main symptoms were recorded before and after the treatment of the 2 groups separately, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in each group. RESULTS: The degrees of diplopia and strabismus decreased significantly ( CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture based on Biaoben Genjie theory can effectively relieve the ocular symptoms of the affected eyes in the patients with oculomotor nerve palsy, and the effect is better when compared with the regular acupuncture.