This study investigated the effect of acupuncture in patients with poor ovarian response (POR) receiving controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). Sixty seven patients with POR were randomly divided into two groups: Group A (acupuncture+COS) and Group B (COS only). The results showed that the rate of high-quality embryos and rate of available embryos in group A were significantly higher than those in group B (P<0.01). In addition, the number of high-quality embryos in Group A also significantly increased (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the number of available embryos between the two groups (P>0.05), but group A showed an upward trend compared to group B. Therefore, acupuncture can be considered as a safe and effective method to add to COS in the treatment of patients with POR.