Acupuncture has a long history of application in the field of reproduction

and in the past 20 years

numerous clinical studies have been conducted to explore the value of acupuncture in assisted reproductive technology. However

due to inconsistent research findings

there are still controversies over the clinical safety and efficacy of acupuncture in assisting in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer(IVF-ET)

which may be closely associated with lacking of standardized treatment regimen in clinical trials of acupuncture. For that reason

this article reviews 16 representative clinical trials of acupuncture assisting IVF-ET published worldwide in 1999—2020

summarizes the grouping design

acupuncture method(acupuncture timing

acupuncture frequency

acupoints

and acupuncture types)

and pregnancy outcome(pregnancy rate

clinical pregnancy rate

ongoing pregnancy rate

and live birth rate)

and discusses several key links in clinical protocol design

so as to provide references for future clinical research.