Abstract:[Objective] To prospectively compare the clinical efficacy of Dynesys dynamic stabilization versus intrumented fusion in the treatment of single-segment degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. [Methods] From January 2013 to June 2016, a total of 46 patients with single-segment degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis were randomly divided into two groups. Of them, 22 patients were treated with Dynesys dynamic stabilization (the Dynesys group) , while the other 24 patients were treated with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (the PLIF group) . The perioperative, follow-up and imaging documents were compared between the two groups. [Results] All the patients in both groups had operation completed smoothly. The Dynesys group was significantly superior to the PLIF group in terms of operation time, intraoperative blood loss and hospital stay (P<0.05) . All patients were followed up for 18-40 months, with a mean of (25.47± 6.69) months. Both VAS and ODI scores in the two groups significantly decreased at the latest follow-up compared with those preoperatively (P<0.05) . However, at corresponding time points the Dynesys group was slightly superior to the PLIF group in VAS and ODI scores, despite of the fact that no statistically significant differences were noted between them (P>0.05) . Radiographically, although there were no significant changes in the involved disc height and adjacent disc height (P>0.05) , the ROMs of affected segment and the whole lumbar spine decreased signifi- cantly, while ROM of the adjacent segment increased significantly at the latest follow-up in both groups compared with those before opera- tion (P<0.05) . The Dynesys group had significantly greater overall lumbar ROM than the PLIF group at the last interview (P<0.05) , addi- tionally, the former proved significantly superior to the latter in term of adjacent segment degeneration by using UCLA scale (P<0.05) . [Conclusion] Both dynamic stabilization and instrumented fusion achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes for treatment of single-segment de- generative lumbar spondylolisthesis. By contrast, the former retains more segment motion, significantly reduce the incidence of radiographic degeneration of adjacent segments, and has the advantages of less bleeding, less trauma and shorter hospital stay.