Objective: Our aim was to investigate the influence of self-ligating brackets (SLBs) on periodontal tissues and inflammatory factors in patients with chronic periodontitis undergoing orthodontic treatment. Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 110 patients with chronic periodontitis and randomly divided them into the research group (n=55) and the control group (n=55). Both groups were treated with straight-wire appliances. Conventional brackets were applied in the control group, while SLBs were adopted in the research group. Moreover, the periodontal status, and the levels of inflammatory factors and prostaglandin E2 in gingival crevicular fluid and serum of both groups were compared before treatment and at 2 months after treatment. Results: At 2 months after treatment, both groups revealed much better results regarding the clinical attachment loss, sulcus bleeding index, gingival recession, plaque index, tooth mobility and gingival recession as compared with those before treatment; more significant changes were identified in the research group (all P<0.01). At 2 months after treatment, both groups demonstrated greatly lower levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and prostaglandin E2 in gingival crevicular fluid and serum as compared with those before treatment; the levels above were markedly lower in the research group than in the control group (all P<0.01). Conclusion: SLBs for patients with chronic periodontitis undergoing orthodontic treatment can significantly alleviate inflammatory reactions, improve periodontal status and exert favorable effects on teeth.