Objectives To compare the effects of three anti-hypertensive drugs-valsartan

amlodipine and metoprolol on blood pressure variability（BPV）in patients with essential hypertension.Method 150cases of patients with essential hypertension received in the Emergency Department of Daye Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2010to June 2013were randomly divided into valsartan group

amlodipine group and metoprolol group with 50cases in each group.Blood pressure and BPV data were collected through ambulatory blood pressure monitoring（ABPM）.Conclusion Valsartan and amlodipine significantly reduced BPV during most of the time and valsartan had the more obvious effect.Amlodipine better reduced daytime diastolic BPV of patients than other drugs.Metoprolol only reduced nighttime BPV and increased BPV during the rest of the time.Conclusion The ideal anti-hypertensive program need pay attention to the effect of BPV.Valsartan and amlodipine can significantly improve the BPV of patients with hypertension.