Objective To compare proximal femur nailing and hemiarthroplasty in the treatment of intertrochanteric femur fractures in the elderly. Methods The study included 60 patients at the age of 75 or above who were diagnosed with intertrochanteric femur fracture between January 2011 and December 2013. After informed consent was obtained from the patients, they were randomized into two groups. Patients in internal fixation group (n=35) were internally fixated with proximal femoral nail, while patients in hemiarthroplasty group (n =25) were treated with cemented hemiarthroplasty. Complications, surgery time, hospital stay, postoperative function and blood loss during the surgery were recorded and functional results were evaluated using Harris Hip Score. Results Blood loss in the internal fixation group and the hemiarthroplasty group was respectively (124.7±23.4) and (207.5±19.4) mL, and the surgery time was (41.7±8.1) and (64.2±7.3) minutes, and the differences were significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in terms of complications between the two groups (P>0.05). Harris Hip Score analysis revealed that the difference between the patients treated with hemiarthroplasty and proximal femoral nailing was statistically significant in favor of the hemiarthroplasty group within the first 3 months. However, this difference diminished at the 6th month time point (P>0.05), and even reversed at the 12th month postoperatively (P<0.05). Conclusions Internal fixation with proximal femoral nail displays a better level of activity in the end in the treatment of intertrochanteric femur fractures. It is helpful for the patients to improve their life quality with convenient operation and less invasion.