Objective To study the short-term effect of two different re-induction regimens in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) children with bone marrow recurrence. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 57 ALL children with bone marrow recurrence. According to their treatment regimen, they were divided into two groups: VMDP (vincristine + mitoxantrone + dexamethasone + PEG-asparaginase; n=42) and VIDP (vincristine + idarubicin + dexamethasone + PEG-asparaginase; n=15). The two groups were compared in terms of complete response rate and incidence rate of adverse reactions. Results There was no significant difference in complete response rate between the VMDP and VIDP groups (74% vs 73%, P > 0.05). All children experienced grade ≥3 hematological adverse events. The VMDP group had a significantly lower chemotherapy-related mortality rate than the VIDP group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of infection between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions For ALL children with bone marrow recurrence, both re-induction regimens can achieve a relatively high complete response rate, and VMDP regimen has a lower chemotherapy-related mortality rate and can thus be used as an option for re-induction in ALL children with bone marrow recurrence.