OBJECTIVE： To explore the effects of umbilical therapy by Rheum plamatum combined with early colonic irrigation on the quality of life in elderly patients with colon stoma. METHODS： 80 patients underwent radical resection of abdominoperineal rectal carcinoma were randomly divided into control group and observation， with 40 cases in each group. Control group was given early colonic irrigation； observation group was additionally given umbilical therapy by R. plamatum. Treatment course of 2 groups lasted for one month， and both were followed up for 6 months after treatment. The quality by life in 2 groups was evaluated by using QLQ-C30， and therapy costs were calculated before and after treatment. RESULTS： Compared with before treatment， function score and total health score of 2 groups improved significantly in 1， 3， 6 months after treatment， while symptom score and single item score decreased significantly， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. In 1， 3， 6 months after treatment， role function， social function， cognitive function， emotional function and total health score of observation group were significantly higher than those of control group， and insomnia and pain score were significantly lower than control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. 3 and 6 months after treatment， diarrhea and economic difficulty score of observation group were significantly lower than those of control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. 1 months after treatment， loss of appetite score of observation group were significantly lower than those of control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. 6 months after treatment， ?fatigue， nausea and vomiting score of observation group were significantly lower than those of control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. 6 months after treatment， nursing cost， drug cost and total cost of observation group were significantly lower than those of control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： The umbilical therapy by R. plamatum combined with early colonic irrigation can improve the quality of life in elderly patients with colon stoma significantly and reduce treatment cost.