Our aim was to compare hip arthroplasty with internal screw fixation in the repair of intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients with osteoporosis. Of 112 included patient, 70 (81.81 ± 4.88 years) received hip arthroplasty with a prosthesis specially designed for intertrochanteric fractures, and 42 (83.46 ± 5.11 years) underwent plate-screw fixation. The hip arthroplasty group had significantly longer operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and total volume of blood transfused but had shorter time to beginning weight-bearing (5.94 ± 2.76 vs 23.68 ± 22.01 days) and higher postoperative Harris hip score (91.37 ± 4.80 vs 86.14 ± 5.46). In the arthroplasty group, there were 2 dislocations; and in the plate-screw fixation group, there were 5 internal fixation failures. Hip arthroplasty is preferable to internal fixation in elderly patients (age >80 years) with osteoporosis.