| Objective To review the efficacy of acupuncture and acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of osteoporosis, which may help to provide new ideas for clinical treatment and basic research of osteoporosis. Methods The literatures in the China domestic medical literature databases (CNKI, VIP and Wanfang) published from January 2014 to August 2018 were retrieved with the key words such as osteoporosis, acupuncture, and TCM. The type of articles was analyzed. The basic research, mechanism of action, clinical curative standard, treatment results, and acupuncture points, as well as the formulas of TCM were summarized in the current study. Results A total of 136 articles have been recorded in the databases. Of those, 94 were focused on studying the effects of acupuncture treatments on osteoporosis. The commonly used acupoints were A’shi points, Shenshu, Mingmen, Guanyuan, Qihai, Yaoyangguan, Pishu, Zusanli, and Sanyinjiao, etc. The clinical and preclinical results demonstrated that acupuncture significantly increased bone mineral density in osteoporotic patients and ovariectomized rats. In addition, 42 articles were dealt with the combination of acupuncture with TCM formula. Nourishing kidney and strong bone decoction, nourishing kidney and invigorating spleen decoction, and nourishing kidney and expelling blood stasis decoction were frequently prescribed. However, there was a lack of animal experimental study to reveal the mechanism. Conclusion Acupuncture treatment can prevent the development of osteoporosis. Moreover, the combination of acupuncture and TCM helps to enhance its clinical efficacy. However, the investigation on the mechanism of acupuncture treatment for osteoporosis is needed. In addition, there is no unified standard for acupoint selection and TCM medication. Also, there is no clinical observation of long-term efficacy and side effects of acupuncture. It needs to be further improved and developed. |