Abstract: OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical effect of umbilical compress of rhubarb and glauber salt powder in the treatment of adhesive intestinal obstruction. METHODS 67 patients with adhesive intestinal obstruction visited the hospital were enrolled in the study， among which 32 cases treated with the conventional western medicine was taken as the control group， 35 cases treated with umbilical compress of rhubarb and glauber salt powder on the basis of the conventional western medicine treatment was taken as the observation group. The neutrophils percentage， recovery situation of serum CRP， abdominal pain relief time， autonomous exhaust time， autonomous defecation time， hospital stay and hospitalization cost in both groups were observed. RESULTS The total effective rate of the observation group was 97.1%， which was better than that of the control group (81.1%， P<0.05). The neutrophils percentage， recovery situation of serum CRP， abdominal pain relief time， autonomous exhaust time， autonomous defecation time， hospital stay and hospitalization cost in the observation group were all better than those in the control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Umbilical compress of rhubarb and glauber salt powder has exact curative effect in the treatment of adhesive intestinal obstruction， and it can shorten the hospital stay， relieve the pain and economic burden of the patients， which is worthy of clinical promotion.