OBJECTIVE： To compare anticoagulant efficacy and safety of dabigatran etexilate and warfarin in the treatment of non-valvular atrial fibrillation （NVAF）. METHODS： In retrospective analysis， 360 NVAF patients were divided into control group （180 cases） and observation group （180 cases） according to therapy plan. Control group was given Warfarin sodium tablet with initial dose of 2.5 mg orally， once a day， adjusted dosage according to INR. Observation group was given Dabigatran etexilate capsule 150 mg with warm water， twice a day， during or after meal. The levels of ALT， AST and INR， the occurrence of ADR were observed in 2 groups before treatment and 1， 3 month after treatment. RESULTS： There was no statistical significance in the levels of ALT or AST between 2 groups before and after treatment （P＞0.05）. Before treatment， there was no statistical significance in INR between 2 groups （P＞0.05）， 1， 3 months after treatment， INR in control group was significantly higher than before treatment， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）；there was no statistical significance in the INR of observation group before and after treatment（P＞0.05）； but INR of 2 groups ranged were in normal range. There was no statistical significance in the incidence of ADR between 2 groups （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： Anticoagnlant efficacy of dabigatran etexilate is significantly better than warfarin for NVAF. Both have similar safety.