Objective: To explore the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) transplantation in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Method: 68 SCI patients admitted to our hospital were randomly divided into group A and group B, with 34 cases in each group. Group A received autologous BMSCs transplantation therapy and group B received standard occupational therapy. The American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score was used to assess the recovery of neurological function before and after treatment. The Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to evaluate the psychological state of the two groups before and after treatment. The Health Status Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate the life quality of the two groups after 6 months of discharge. The clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of the two groups were observed. Result: The effective rate of group A was significantly higher than that of group B (P<0.05). The motor, pain and tactile scores of the ASIA scores in group A were significantly higher than those in group B (P<0.05). The SAS and SDS scores of group A were significantly lower than those of group B (P<0.05). The scores of overall health, physiological function, social function, physical pain, physiological function, vitality, mental health and emotional function in SF-36 of group A were significantly higher than those of group B (P<0.001). After BMSCs transplantation, 1 patient developed low back pain, 2 patients developed fever, and 1 patient developed headache but did not receive special treatment. Conclusion: BMSCs transplantation has a good therapeutic effect on SCI compared with the standard occupational therapy. It can promote the recovery of neurological function in patients, and alleviate the patient's bad mood and improve the quality of life, with fewer adverse reactions, which may be an ideal treatment for SCI.