Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intra-articular etanercept in patients with inflammatory arthropathy. Methods: Intra-articular etanercept（25mg） were given to 31 patients with flare of arthritis in their single joint（18 patients in knee,5 patients in ankle,5 patients in wrist,and 3 patients in elbow respectively） upon ultrasonic locations.An efficacy evaluation was completed before each injection and one week thereafter.The primary endpoint was the one week change indicated by patients′ global assessments（visual analogue scale,VAS 0-100mm） on status of the target joints.In addition,the synovium thickness of knees was measured by ultrasonic before and after each treatment in patients with knee arthritis. Results: Patients′ global assessments of the status of the target joints showed that mean VAS was 57.8（SD 11.6）mm and mean baseline 24.8（SD15.9） mm（P＜0.01）.The target joints pain score（VAS 0～100mm） during range of motion,the target joints tenderness（0-3 degree） and the patients′ global health assessment（VAS 0～100mm） were lower than those during the baseline period（P＜0.01）.Furthermore,ultrasound measurement showed that knee circumference and thickness of the synovium with the highest thickness in knee suprapatellar bursa in the 18 patients with knee arthritis were reduced as compared with those during baseline period（P＜0.05）. Conclusion: Intra-articular etanercept can safely relieve arthritis in patients with inflammatory arthropathy.