Objective  The purpose of the observation was to study the curative effect of oral   L    carnitine supplement in maintenance hemodialysis patients.Methods  The changes in laboratory parameters and clinical manifestations were observed in 18 patients before and 3 months after   L    carnitine was administered orally at a dose of 1?g·d    -1  .Results  The serum level of carnitine in hemodialyzed patients were significantly lower than those of the control group (  P  <0.001).After 3 months of   L    carnitine treatment,with the increased concentration of serum carnitine,physical status,appetite,cardiac function,intro  dialytic hypotention and cramps were improved.And hematocrit,serum pro  albumin,transferrin and high density lipoprotein were increased,at the mean time total cholesterol was decreased.Conclusion  Oral supplement of   L    carnitine in hemodialyzed patients appears to be associated with an improvement of nutritional status,cardiovascular function and elevation of dialysis tole~rance.