Abstract:[Objective] To compare the clinical efficacy of four different treatments for diffuse pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) of the knee. [Methods] From January 2010 to December 2019, 52 patients with diffuse PVNS of the knee were retrospectively analyzed. Ac- cording to preoperative doctor-patient communication, 8 patients were treated with arthroscopic synovectomy (AS) , 22 patients underwent AS combined with radiotherapy (ASRT) , 5 patients underwent AS combined with posterior open synovectomy (ASPO) , while the remaining 17 patients were treated with AS combined with posterior open synovectomy and radiotherapy (APRT) . The perioperative, follow-up and im- aging data were compared among the four groups. [Results] The AS group and ASRT group proved significantly superior to the ASPO group and APRT group in terms of operation time, total incision length, postoperative drainage volume, postoperative walking time and hospital stay (P<0.05) . All patients were followed up for 25~118 months, with an average of (59.8±20.2) months. The AS and ASRT groups returned to full weight-bearing activity significantly earlier than the ASPO and APRT groups (P<0.05) . At last follow-up, the VAS scores significant- ly decreased (P<0.05) , while the Ogilvie-Harris score significantly increased in all the 4 groups compared with those preoperatively (P< 0.05) . At the corresponding time points, there was no significant difference in VAS score among the four groups (P>0.05) . At the last followup, the Ogilvie-Harris scores were ranked from high to low ASRT > APRT > AS > ASPO, which was statistically significant (P<0.05) . In term of MRI assessment, joint effusion was significantly reduced in all four groups at last follow-up compared with those preoperatively (P< 0.05) . The recurrence rate of PVNS was ranked up-down as follows: ASPO group 3/5 (60.0%) > AS group 3/8 (37.5%) > APRT group 1/17 (5.9%) > ASRT group 1/22 (4.6%) , which was statistically significant (P<0.05) . [Conclusion] For diffuse PVNS of the knee, arthroscopic surgery is recommended if it involves intraarticularly only, while arthroscopic combined with posterior open synovectomy is recommended if it involves intraarticularly and extraarticularly. Both of them can reduce the recurrence rate by combined with postoperative adjuvant lowdose radiotherapy.