Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of extracorporeal shockwave therapy （ESWT） in treatment of chronic low back pain. Methods From December 2018 to July 2019,80 patients with chronic low back pain （CLBP） admitted to the department of rehabilitation medicine in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital were randomly assigned into ESWT group （n=40） and control group （n=40）.The patients of the ESWT group received ESWT （2 000 pulses with the pressure of 2-2.5bars,energy flux density of 0.1 mJ/mm²,8Hz frequency）,every other day,five treatments in total;and the control group （n=40） received frequently-used physical treatment （ultrasonic wave treatment,magnet therapy,electric stimulation et al）,once a day,two weeks in total.The patients were assessed by using Visual Analogue Scale （VAS）,Oswestry Disability Index （ODI）.The data were obtained before treatment,and after two-week treatment. Results Four cases in the ESWT group dropped out.Before treatment,the ESWT group had similar VAS （P>0.05）,but worsen ODI when compared to the control group.After treatment,the VAS score and ODI score of both groups decreased significantly compared with baseline （P<0.05,respectively）,and the scores of VAS,ODI in the ESWT group were better than those in the control group （P<0.05,respectively）. Conclusion Short-term ESWT with low energy flux density is effective and safe in treatment of chronic low back pain,which can reduce the pain and improve the general functional state.