Objective To investigate the effect of early rehabilitation intervention on the incidences of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) and early diseases in preterm infants.Methods The appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm infants with a gestational age of < 34 weeks and a birth weight of 1 000 to < 2 000 g who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) within 24 hours after birth were enrolled in a prospective randomized controlled trial. These infants were randomly divided into rehabilitation intervention group and control group. The infants in the rehabilitation intervention group were given early rehabilitation after their vital signs became stable, including oral sensory and muscle strength training and pressure touching of the head, chest, abdomen, extremities, hands, and feet. The primary outcome measures were the time to independent oral feeding, length of hospital stay, and incidence rate of EUGR. The secondary outcome measures were the incidence rates of related diseases in preterm infants, such as apnea, feeding intolerance, and sepsis.Results A total of 97 preterm infants who met the inclusion criteria and had complete data were enrolled, with 48 in the control group and 49 in the rehabilitation intervention group. The rehabilitation intervention group had a shorter time to independent oral feeding than the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the rehabilitation intervention group had a shorter length of hospital stay and a lower corrected gestational age at discharge (P < 0.05), as well as a lower incidence rate of EUGR (P < 0.05). The rehabilitation intervention group had lower incidence rates of apnea, feeding intolerance, and sepsis than the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusions Early rehabilitation intervention for preterm infants in the NICU may reduce the incidence rates of apnea, feeding intolerance, and EUGR and help them to achieve independent oral feeding early.