Abstract: Objective To explore the effect and significance of palliative care in patients with head and neck cancer during radiotherapy. Methods A total of 60 patients with head and neck cancer in the department of radiotherapy of the first medical center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from November 2017 to November 2018 were randomly divided into study group and control group.The control group was treated with conventional radiotherapy care,and the study group was treated comprehensive treatment plan under the guidence of palliative care concept.The acute radiation adverse reactions,quality of life and nutritional status of the two groups were compared. Results There was no significant difference in baseline data between the two groups (all P>0.05).The incidences of severe oral mucositis (≥gradeⅡ)(516.67% vs 1240.00%),and severe radiodermatitis (≥gradeⅡ) (13.33% vs516.67%) were significantly lower in study group than those of control group.Five patients had grade Ⅲ-Ⅳmyelosuppression in the study group,which was significant less than 13 cases in the control group (P=0.024).Hypoproteinemia was found in two patients in the study group and 10 patients in the control group after radiotherapy,with significant difference (P=0.010).No significant difference was found in the quality of life between the two groups before radiotherapy.After radiotherapy,the scores of physical function,emotional function and global quality of life in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05),while the symptom scores of loss of appetite,fatigue and pain in the study group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05).Fifteen cases had weight loss ≥5% and 12 cases had severe malnutrition in the study group,while the number was 25 cases and 24 cases in the control group,respectively,with significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion The application of palliative care during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer patients can reduce the adverse reactions of radiotherapy,improve the quality of life and nutritional status.