OBJECTIVE To evaluate clinical therapeutic effect and the safety of pricking blood therapy combined with ultraviolet irradiation for treatment of acute herpes zoster. METHODS One hundred and thirty cases were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 65 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with pricking blood therapy combined with ultraviolet irradiation. Firstly, the affected parts were heavily taped with a plum-blossom needle and then cupping. After the cup was removed, with the body surface-dividing field method, ultraviolet irradiation was given at the skin injury area and the nerve root area corresponding to paraspinal vertebra, and the control group was treated with Aciclovir and other western medicine. Seven days constituted one course. Their therapeutic effects and adverse reactions were observed. RESULTS After treatment of 7 days, the cured rate of 76.9% and the total effective rate of 90.8% in the observation group were significantly higher than 38.5% and 66.2% in the control group, respectively (both P < 0.01); the incidence rate of post herpetic neuralgia of 3.1% in the observation group was significantly lower than 12.3% in the control group (P < 0.05); after treatment, the scores for pain, rash and sleep decreased significantly in the two groups (all P < 0.01), more significantly decreased in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05); the pain-relieving time, herpes-stopping time, scab-forming time and the cured time in the cured patients of the observation group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The pricking blood therapy combined with ultraviolet irradiation has rapid therapeutic effect, effectively shortens duration of illness, decreases the incidence rate of post herpetic neuralgia and it is a safe remedy for treatment of herpes zoster.