In the present paper the authors review recent progress in the study on the underlying mechanism of acupuncture effects by using functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) from 1) fMRI imaging technology

2) the meridian-collateral system of Chinese medicine

3) the factors affecting the therapeutic effect of acupuncture

4) the mechanism underlying the efficacy of acupuncture treatment

5) the experimental design methods for studying acupuncture by using fMRI

and 6) the methods for analyzing fMRI data.Research results show that fMRI technology is a new and useful approach for studying the underlying mechanism of acupuncture effect.