Abstract: OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical efficacy of piperacillin / tazobactam combined with probiotics in the treatment of liver cirrhosis complicated with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) and its effect on liver function and inflammatory cytokines. METHODS A total of 200 patients with cirrhosis and SBP admitted in our hospital from Jan. 2012 to Dec. 2016 were selected as the study subjects, and divided into the control group and the observation group according to random number table, with 100 cases in each group. The control group was treated with piperacillin and tazobactam sodium (8∶1), whereas the observation group was treated with probiotics in addition to the treatment for the control group. The treatment duration was 1-2 weeks. Ascites puncture was conducted for both groups of patients for pathogen detection. The clinical treatment effects of the two groups were determined. The time of disappearance of clinical symptoms and decrease of the ascites leukocyte content in the two groups was observed. Venous blood was taken after fasting, and the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin (ALB) content in the two groups were measured before and after treatment. of the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The adverse reactions occurred during the treatment in both groups were recorded. RESULTS In the control group, 34 strains of pathogens were detected, and 33 strains of pathogens were detected in the observation group. The total effective rate of the patients in the experimental group after treatment was 96.00%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group which was 87.00% (χ²=5.207, P=0.023). Compared with the control group, the time taken to achieve abdominal distension disappearance, abdominal pain disappearance, normal body temperature, abdominal tenderness disappearance, and ascites leukocyte recurrence was significantly shortened for the patients in the experimental group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of AST, ALT, TNF-α and IL-6 decreased significantly in both groups (P< 0.05), whereas the levels of IL-2 and IL-10 increased (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the serum levels of AST, ALT, TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly lower (P<0.05), and the levels of IL-2 and IL-10 were significantly higher in the observation group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Piperacillin/tazobactam combined with probiotics has a good clinical effect in the treatment of cirrhosis combined with SBP. It can inhibit the intestinal flora disorders, promote the recovery of liver function and reduce the secretion of inflammatory cytokines in serum, and thus plays a role in inhibiting SBP process and reducing liver damage.