Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music therapy on the anxiety and distress in patients taking thoracentesis. Methods: The quasi-experimental design was used with a nonequivalent control group pre-post test time series. Participatns were divided into the experimental (n=20) or control group (n=20). Music therapy was given to the experimental group with a CD that was made by the investigator by themes. The research tools included the VAS Anxiety Inventory, and the Subjective and Objective Distress Inventory. Data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0 program by ${chi}^2$-test and t-test. Results: There were statistically significant differences in state (VAS) anxiety and subjective distress between two groups. Conclusion: The music therapy was effective in reducing the anxiety and subjective distress of patients taking thoracentesis. In the future, music therapy will be useful in the field of nursing as a nursing intervention to alleviate stress and enhance well-being.