Abstract: Objective To observe the efficacy of ultrasound interventional therapy versus extracorporeal shock wave (ESW) in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. Methods Clinical data about 100 patients with plantar fasciitis admitted to department of pain treatment in Chinese PLA General Hospital from January to October in 2016 were collected. All patients were randomly divided into two groups: ultrasound - guided drug injection group (group A, n=50) and ESW treatment group (group B, n=50). The therapeutic parameters, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of the first step pain in the morning, were monitored at before treatment and at 1 day, 1 month and 3 months after treatment, respectively. The thickness of the plantar fascia was compared at 3 months after treatment. Results The VAS scores of the first step pain in the morning decreased significantly compared with those before treatment in two groups (A: 7.05±1.13 vs 3.43±1.58; B: 6.98±1.22 vs 4.55±1.23; P< 0.05, respectively). The VAS scores of the first step pain in the morning in the ultrasound intervention group were significantly lower than those in ESW group at 1 day, 1 month after treatment(3.43±1.58 vs 4.55±1.23; 1.08±2.19 vs 2.86±1.70; P< 0.05, respectively), whereas it was higher in ultrasound intervention group compared with ESW group at 3 months after treatment (2.08±2.61 vs 1.10±1.66, P=0.045). The thickness of the posterior plantar fascia of the two groups decreased significantly when compared with that before treatment (All P< 0.05), and the thickness of the plantar fascia of the ESW group was less than that of the ultrasound intervention group at 3 months after treatment (4.34±0.39 vs 4.06±0.53, P=0.007). Conclusion Both ultrasound interventional therapy and ESW are effective for plantar fasciitis. Ultrasound interventional therapy is superior to ESW in respect to short term effect, but ESW exhibits a longer-lasting effect.