Objective: To investigate the clinical effects of ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy on treating upper urinary calculi patients. Methods: 42 upper urinary calculi patients treated with ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy were selected as observation group; 42 patients treated with percutaneous nephrolithotomy were selected as control group at the same term. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative gastrointestinal peristalsis time, stone clearance rate and postoperative complications of 2 groups were compared. Results: The operation time of observation group was obviously longer than control group (P<0.05); the intraoperative blood loss, postoperative gastrointestinal peristalsis time and incidence rate of complications of observation group were obviously lower than control group (P<0.05). There was no statistical significance in stone clearance rate between observation group and control group (P>0.05). Conclusions: Treating upper urinary calculi (<2cm) with ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy has the advantages of high stone clearance rate and less postoperative complications, so it is a safe and effective method in the treatment of upper urinary calculi.