To investigate the effects of the combination of Shentu Xiaoshi oral liquid and zinc licorice on food intake, body mass, hemoglobin and gastrointestinal hormone levels in the treatment of pediatric anorexia nervosa. Methods One hundred and sixteen children with anorexia nervosa who were treated in Chengdu Qingbaijiang District People's hospital from January 2020 to December 2020 were selected and divided into two groups by the random number table method: the control group (58 cases)was treated with zinc glycyrrhiza, and the observation group (58 cases) was treated with the combination of Shentu Xiaoshi oral liquid and zinc glycyrrhiza, both for 4 weeks. The clinical efficacy and the occurrence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups, and the changes of food intake, body mass, hemoglobin, gastrin (MOT), gastrin (GAS) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels were also compared before and after treatment. Results Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that the point in time effect, point-in-time and between-group interaction effects significantly affected changes in food intake, body mass and hemoglobin levels, and between group effects significantly affected changes in food intake and body mass levels; and the degree of increase in food intake, body mass and hemoglobin in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group after treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05). Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that time-point effect, between-group effect, and time-point and between-group interaction effect could significantly affect the changes of MOT, GAS, and NPY levels, and between-group effect could significantly affect the changes of MOT, GAS, and NPY levels; and the increase of MOT, GAS, and NPY in the observation group after treatment was more significant than that in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05). The difference between the clinical efficacy of the observation group and the control group was significant, and the total effective rate of the observation group was 94.83%, which was higher than that of the control group (81.03%), and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). During 4 weeks of treatment, there was 1 case of mild rash and 1 case of diarrhea in the observation group and 1 case of edema in the control group. The adverse drug reaction rates of the two groups were 3.45% and 1.72% respectively (P＞0.05). Conclusion The combination of Shentu Xiaoshi oral liquid and zinc licorice is effective in treating pediatric anorexia, which can effectively increase food intake and body mass, improve hemoglobin and gastrointestinal hormone levels, and has a high safety profile.