objective: The aim of the study was to observe the effectiveness of continuously subcutaneous-pumped octreotide infusion in palliative treatment of malignant bowel obstruction (MBO). Methods: Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed in 26 carcinoma patients complicated with MBO, in the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China, from March 2007 to April 2009. All 26 carcinoma patients with MBO were divided into two groups: the controlling group (CG, routine therapy, 15 patients) and the octreotide group (OG, 11 patients). The octreotide group received routine therapy combined with octreotide (0.3 mg/d) by 24 hours continuously subcutaneous octreotide infusion. The changes of curative effectiveness related to symptoms, the times of recovering exsufflation and defecation, the average drain of gastrointestinal drainage tube, the duration of gastrointestinal drainage tube and the rate of extubation, were observed and compared between the two groups. Results: After treatment, remarkable changing rates of MBO related symptoms were 81.8%(9/11)in OG, and 46.7%(7/15) in CG(P＜0.05). The 78% of SG and 30% of CG recovered the exsufflation and defecation, and the mean times they needed were 3.2 d and 5.8 d, respectively (P ＜ 0.05). The durations of gastrointestinal drainage tube of OG and CG were (5 ± 1.2) d and (10 ± 2.3) d, respectively, and the rates of extubation were 54.5% and 20%, respectively. The improvement rate in the octreotide group was better than that in the controlling group and the difference was significant (72.7%and 26.7%, P ＜ 0.05). Conclusion: The administration of octreotide in combination with routine treatment can be very effective in the treatment of MBO. It can relieve the symptoms of MBO effectively and improve the quality of life of the end-stage patients. It has provided one kind of new treating thought and method for treatment of malignant bowel obstruction.