Abstract: Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography(PTC) needle suction and catheter drainage for liver abscess. Methods A total of 40 cases of bacterial liver abscess in our hospital were randomly divided into group A and B with 20 cases in each group.The patients in the group A were treated with simple suction technique by using PTC needle under the guide of ultrasound;while the patients in the group B were treated with Ultrasound-guided catheter drainage.The one-time recovery rate,time for body temperature recovery,pain remission and abscess cavity disappeared,and duration of hospital stays;the follow-up was carried out to observe the incidence of recurrence and complications. Results All 20 cases in group B were one-time cured with an effective rate of 100%;however,in the group A,only 13 cases in the first attempt were cured with a rate of 65%;4 cases recovered by the second attempt in 2 to 5 days after the first attempt,the other 3 cases remained larger vomica after the second puncture underwent catheter drainage.The difference of clinical effectiveness between the two groups was significant(P<0.05);The time for body temperature recovery,pain remission,abscess cavity disappeared and hospital stay in group A was(3.0±0.6)d,(2.5±0.6)d,(12.5±3.5)d and(15.6±4.0)d,respectively,which were longer than those of group B[(2.0±0.5) d,(1.2±0.5) d,(7.2±2.0) d and(10.3±3.0) d,respectively],the difference was significant(P<0.05);The incidence of complications of group A was 40%,which was higher than that of the group B(5.0%),the difference was significant(χ²=5.161,P<0.05). Conclusion The ultrasound-guided catheter drainage for liver abscess can effectively improve the curative efficacy,relieve the pains of patients,shorten the treatment time,which is worth of clinical promotion.