Abstract:[Objective] To compare the clinical results of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) versus unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) for medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee. [Methods] From January 2017 to January 2020, 277 patients with simple medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee were enrolled in this study. According to the results of preoperative doctor-patient communication, 156 patients were treated with TKA, while other 121 patients received UKA. The perioperative, follow-up and imaging data were compared between the two groups. [Results] The UKA group proved significantly superior to the TKA in terms of operative time, incision length, in- traoperative blood loss and hospital stay (P<0.05) . At the latest follow up lasted more than 12 months, the VAS and WOMAC scores de- creased significantly (P<0.05) , whereas the ROM and HSS scores significantly increased in both groups compared with those before sur- gery (P<0.05) . The HSS, VAS, WOMAC score and ROM in UKA group were significantly better than those in TKA group at 3 months post- operatively (P<0.05) , while which became not statistically significant between the two groups at the latest follow-up (P<0.05) . In terms of imaging assessment, the femorotibial angle (FTA) reduced significantly in the TKA group at the last follow-up compared with that before surgery (P<0.05) , while which remained unchanged in the UKA group (P<0.05) . However, the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) in- creased significantly (P<0.05) , whereas the posterior tibial slope (PTS) significantly decreased in both groups at the latest follow up com- pared with those before operation (P<0.05) . At the latest follow up the FTA and PTS in TKA group were significantly less than those in UKA group (P<0.05) , while the MPTA in TKA group was significantly greater than that in the UKA group (P<0.05) . [Conclusion] In terms of short-term efficacy, UKA has the advantages of less trauma, more obvious pain relief and better recovery of knee function over TKA.