Abstract:〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib in the treatment of elderly patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Methods A total of 100 elderly patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis admitted to Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to January 2021 were selected. According to the time of clinical admission, the patients were numbered. The odd-number group was the observation group, and the even-number group was the control group, with 50 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with routine treatment, and the patients in the observation group were treated with tofacitinib. The therapeutic effect, rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) before and after treatment, and adverse reactions of drug treatment were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the observation group was 98.00 %, higher than 80.00 % of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of RF, ESR and CRP the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was lower than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion On the basis of conventional treatment, tofacitinib can improve the clinical treatment effect, improve the safety of medication, improve the condition of severe rheumatoid arthritis, and reduce adverse reactions.