Abstract:[Objective] To explore the clinical efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for chronic Achilles tendinitis. [Methods] A retrospective study was conducted on 187 patients who received ESWT for chronic Achilles tendinitis in the outpatient depart- ment from June 2017 to October 2021. All patients received five ESWTs 1 week apart, each with 2 000 pulses (0.45 mJ/mm2 , 10Hz) . The clini- cal results were evaluated by pain VAS and AOFAS ankle and hindfoot scores. [Results] All patients had no serious adverse reactions during treatment, and were followed up for more than 12 months. The patients who were able to resume physical activity proved of 20.9% at 3 months, 69.0% at 6 months, and 86.1% at 12 months after treatment. Of them, 135 patients had pain completely relieved, accounting for 72.2%; 26 pa- tients had no pain in low intensity exercise, while pain in high-intensity exercise, accounting for 5.3%; 10 patients had no pain in daily life, while pain only in exercise, accounting for 5.3%; 16 patients continued to complain of pain, accounting for 8.6% at the latest follow-up. The VAS score for pain decreased significantly [(7.3±0.9) , (2.8±0.7) , (2.4±0.5) , (2.0±0.7) , P<0.05] , while AOFAS score significantly increased [(72.1±4.7) , (83.2±4.7) , (87.4±3.7) , (90.0±5.0) , P<0.05] over time (befor treatment, 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment) . [Conclusion] The extracorporeal shockwave therapy for chronic Achilles tendinitis is simple, safe and effective, with good patient’s compliance.