Objective: Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a common painful problem of the elbow. This study was conducted to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and low- intensity laser therapy in LE treatment.Material and Methods : The study included 60 LE patients. Subjects were divided into two groups randomly. Group 1 received ESWT, while group 2 received laser therapy. Presence of lateral epicondyle tenderness, elbow pain, and hand grip strength (HGS) were evaluated at the beginning and at 4 and 12 weeks. Elbow pain was evaluated with the Short-Form McGill pain questionnaire (SF-MPQ). Results: The patients with tender lateral epicondyle were not signifcantly different between groups at each time point. Both groups had improvement on HGS evaluated at the 4 th and 12 th weeks, but in the ESWT group, the improvement was signifcantly higher. All SF- MPQ parameters improved signifcantly after each therapy evaluated at the 4 th and 12 th weeks. However, mean visual analog scale, present pain intensity, affective pain subscale, and total pain scale scores were signifcantly lower in the ESWT group at the 4 th and 12 th weeks.Conclusion: Both ESWT and laser therapy are effective and safe treatment options for LE; however, ESWT seems to be more effcient in pain reduction and improvement of functions.