Conventional treatments for osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, are associated with unpleasant adverse effects and often ineffective. Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have been used for thousands of years to treat pain and other dysfunctions. However, the scientific evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture and TCM is equivocal, and adapting the Western biomedical model to assess them is a great challenge. By adopting a systematic, step-by-step approach, the research team at the University of Maryland has been carefully evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture on knee OA over the past 10 years. Their successful experience may be a useful model for future acupuncture and TCM research.