Objective: To evaluate the effects of treatment of integrative Chinese and Western medicine(ICWM) on arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Methods:The non-randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 447 SARS patients treated synchronouslywith western conventional treatment (WM group, n = 171 ) alone and ICWM (ICWM group, n = 276). Thechanges of the cases with normal level (≥95 % ) or abnormal level (＜95 % ) SaO2 were observed dynamically. Results: In the 3rd-14th day of the therapeutic course, the percentage of patients with normal SaO2 in the ICWM group was higher than that in the WM group (OR = 0. 5178, P =0. 0038), and this tendency was more evident in patients of the severe type ( OR = 0.18, P = 0. 0001). However, the statistical significance of difference was only shown in patients for whom the ICWM treatment started in the early period after the onset (≤7 days after it, OR=0. 3803, P=0. 006), but not shown in those who received ICWM treatment later in the mid-late period of SARS (P＞0.05). Conclusion: ICWM treatment, particularly when it is used for inter vention in the early stage, is beneficial for maintaining normal SaO2 in SARS patients.