Abstract: Objective  To investigate the relapses of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) and the correlation with musculoskeletal ultrasound.Methods  A total of 63 RA patients whose erythrocyte sedimentation rate（DAS28ESR） were continuously ≤2.6  were followed up strictly for at least 3 months. The clinical data and ultrasound results of 28 articular musculoskeletal specimens were recorded.With the persistence of the original treatment, patients' 3month clinical information were collected.Patients with disease recurrence (DAS28ESR) were divided into the disease recurrence group, patients with disease continuous remission （DAS28ESR≤2.6）  were divided into the continuous remission group. The differences of clinical indexes and ultrasonography images between disease recurrence group and continuous remission group were compared  by logistic regression analysis. Results  A total of 26 cases with  disease  recurrence (41.3%)  and 37 cases with  continuous remission(58.7%) were observed within 3 months. Detection rate of subclinical synovitis of   disease recurrence group was obviously higher than that of  continuous  remission group,while it  was lower in depth remission rate（DAS28ESR<1.6）. Subclinical synovitis was an independent risk factor for the recurrence of RA, while  the deep remission was a protective factor for the recurrence of RA. Conclusion  The recurrence of RA was related to high disease activity and subclinical synovitis.

Key words: arthritis, , rheumatoid, recurrence, musculoskeletal ultrasonography, clinical remission