Abstract:[Objective] To compare the clinical consequences of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for knee osteoarthritis (KO) with or with-out indwelling drainage tube. [Methods] A retrospective study was conducted on 130 patients who received TKA for KO in our hospital fromJuly 2019 to January 2023. According to the results of doctor-patient communication, 65 patients had not drainage placed (the ND group) ,whereas other 65 patients had drainage placed (the D group). The documents regarding to perioperative period and follow-up were comparedbetween the two groups. [Results] All patients in both groups had TKA performed successfully. The ND group proved significantly superiorto the D group in terms of total blood loss [(340.8±101.5) ml vs (389.2±80.8) ml, P=0.049] and postoperative hospital stay [(2.0±0.7) days vs(4.4±0.9) days, P<0.001], although there was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the twogroups (P>0.05). As time went on, the pain VAS scores significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the knee flexion-extension range of motion(ROM) and AKSS scores significantly increased in both groups (P<0.05). The ND group proved significantly better than the D group in termsVAS score [(1.7±0.7) vs (2.7±1.0), P=0.002], the knee ROM [DHS (119.8±4.1)° vs (116.3±6.6)°, P<0.001] 1 month postoperatively. [Conclu-sion] Compared with indwelling drainage, no indwelling drainage after total knee arthroplasty has the advantages of reducing short-term post-operative pain and shortening hospital stay.