OBJECTIVE： To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Qingjin huatan decoction for patients with AECOPD phlegm-heat obstructing lung. METHODS： 120 patients with AECOPD phlegm-heat obstructing lung were divided into observation group and control group according to random number table， with 60 cases in each group. Control group received routine therapy as low-flow oxygen therapy， anti-infective， bronchiectasis， expectorant， etc.； observation group additionally received Qingjin huatan decoction （decocted by 400 ml pure water）， tid， on the basis of control group. The levels of IL-8， IL-17， IL-23 and TNF-α were observed in 2 groups before and 7 d after treatment. Clinical efficacies and the occurrence of ADR were compared between 2 groups. RESULTS： Before treatment， there was no statistical significance in the levels of IL-8， IL-17， IL-23 and TNF-α between 2 groups （P＞0.05）. After treatment， the levels of IL-8， IL-17， IL-23 and TNF-α in observation group were significantly decreased and lower than in control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. The levels of IL-17， IL-23 and TNF-α in control group were decreased significantly compared to before treatment， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）； the level of IL-8 had no significant change compared to before treatment， without statistical significance （P＞0.05）. Excellent rate of observation group was 95.00％， which was significantly higher than 78.95％ of control group， with statistical significance （P＜0.05）. There was no statistical significance in the incidence of ADR between 2 groups （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： Qingjin huatan decoction shows significant therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of AECOPD phlegm-heat obstructing lung， and can improve inflammatory factors with good safety.