A new study published in PLoS One compared the efficacy and side effects of acupuncture, sham acupuncture and drugs in the treatment of chronic constipation. Here, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of acupuncture and drugs for chronic constipation were comprehensively retrieved from electronic databases up to December 2017. A network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed using a random-effects model under a frequentist framework. Overall, 40 studies (n = 11032) were included: 39 were high-quality studies and 1 was a low-quality study. The findings showed that acupuncture improved the symptoms of chronic constipation. It was stated that sham acupuncture may have curative effects that are greater than the placebo effect. In addition, polyethylene glycol also has acceptable curative effects with fewer side effects than other drugs.