Background: Intrathecal sufentanil has been found to provide profound analgesia during labor. The analgesic effect of intrathecal sufentanil, morphine and hyperbaric bupivacaine were compared with that of epidural fentanyl and bupivacaine for labor pain. Methods: Thirty women received either 2 ml of 10 intrathecal sufentanil with 0.2 mg morphine and 3.5 mg bupivacaine (intrathecal group; n = 15) or 10 ml of 0.125% bupivacaine mixed with fentanyl 5 /ml (epidural group; n = 15) during active labor. When pain occurred, 50 mg meperidine was injected intravenously in the intrathecal group, or a patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) pump, using 0.0625% bupivacaine with fentanyl 2 /ml, was programmed to deliver a 4 ml/h basal infusion and a 4 ml on-demand bolus, with 10-min lockout intervals, was activated in the epidural group. Results: The quality of analgesia, side effects, duration of labor, overall satisfaction and Apgar scores did not differ between the two groups. Motor weakness and urinary retention were significantly lower in the intrathecal group (P