Objective To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture at triggering points in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Methods A total of 52 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) were selected in the Pain Management Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from September 2018 to January 2020. The patients were randomized into study group and control group. Both groups actively received basic treatment. The study group was treated with acupuncture at triggering points and oral medication, while the control group with oral medication. Data were recorded of the patient′s numeric rating scale (NRS), nerve conduction velocity (NCV), and Toronto clinical scoring system (TCSS) before treatment, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after treatment to evaluate the treatment effect, and calculate the total efficiency rate of the two groups of patients, and the adverse reactions during the entire treatment period. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistics 23.0. Depending on the data type, t test, variance analysis, Mann-Whitey U test, and χ² tests were used for inter-group comparison. Results After the treatment, NRS in the study group was significantly lower than that before the treatment (P<0.05), and NRS of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group at the same time (P<0.05). NCV in the study group increased as compared with before the treatment (P<0.05), and the nerve conduction velocity at each time point after 1 week was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). TCSS of the study group was significantly improved as compared with that before the treatment (P<0.05), and the improvement of the TCSS score of the experimental group was better than that of the control group (P<0.05). After the treatment, the total efficiency rate in the study group was higher than that in the control group (92% vs 64%,P<0.05). All patients had no serious adverse events during the entire treatment period. Conclusion It is safe and effective to treat diabetic peripheral neuropathy by acupuncture at triggering points, which is worthy of clinical application.