OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of moxibustion on serum adiponectin content, and expression of adiponectin and adiponectin receptor in adipose tissue in Alzheimer's disease (AD) rats, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of AD. METHODS: ) for 2 weeks. Moxibustion was applied to CV8, ST36 and CV8+ST36 respectively for 3 moxa-cones every time, once daily for 5 weeks. Morris water maze tests were used to assess the rats' learning-memory ability. The contents of serum adiponectin were assayed using ELISA, and the expression of adiponectin and adiponectin receptor in the adipose tissue was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot, separately. RESULTS: >0.05). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion at CV8, ST36 and CV8+ST36 is effective in up-regulating serum adiponectin content,adiponectin mRNA expression and adiponectin receptor protein expression in adipose tissue, which may provide evidence for clinical election of acupoints.