Crohn's disease(CD) is a common chronic non-specific gastrointestinal inflammatory disease. Studies showed that acupuncture-moxibustion(A&M) can effectively relieve the symptoms of CD and its clinical efficacy has been confirmed in patients. In this paper

by reviewing the relevant articles for the mechanism studies on CD treated with A&M in recent years

it is discovered that the effect mechanism of A&M on CD includes two aspects

i.e. the local regulation inside the intestines and the neuromodulation outside intestines. The former one refers to the regulation of intestinal microflora

intestinal epithelial cell function and the regulation of intestinal local immune cells. The latter points to the modulation of brain function effect and the modulation of “brain-gut axis” related neurotransmitters. This paper also introduces the differences in intervention modes and acupoint selection between clinical trial and animal experiment

the suggestions on elucidating the nerve-immunity mechanism for CD treatment with A&M in view of “brain-gut axis” system

and its prospects. It is anticipated that this review may be conductive to the effect mechanism research of A&M for CD so that the evidences may be provided for optimizing the clinical regimen of A&M in treatment of this disease.