Abstract： Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of compound glycyrrhizin and famciclovir in the treatment of herpes zoster. Methods 98 patients with herpes zoster were randomly divided into 2 groups. The treatment group were administrated with compound glycyrrhizin for a week. The control group were administrated with famciclovir for a week. The time of blister stop, crust formation, pain disappearance and cure was observed after 10 days. The rate of postherpetic neuralgia was observed too. Results The difference was significant between treatment group and control group in the time of blister stop [(2.38±0.76)d,(2.97±0.89)d], crust formation [(5.15±1.42)d, (6.91±1.97)d], pain disappearance [(4.06±1.34)d, (6.05±1.83)d] and cure [(7.32±2.21)d, (9.86±2.77)d] (all P<0.05). The difference of the rate of postherpetic neuralgia was insignificant between two groups (2%,4.2%) (P0.05). Conclusion Combined therapy of compound glycyrrhizin and famciclovir was safe and effective for the treatment of herpes zoster.