The purpose of this empirical research is to explore the influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Central Asian integration.  This study analyzes the key rationale of regional integration theory, the process of Central Asian integration, and the theoretical framework and models of the integration mechanism.  A new regional integration theory for Central Asia, which is called strategic integration, is proposed. The essential aspects of this new strategic integration are to be non-unilateral, all-encompassing, systematic, and evolving. This study concludes that: (a) the SCO will be able to significantly bolster Central Asian integration because it matches well with the new Central Asian regional integration theory in terms of its previous achievement, its ability to develop cooperative relationships, its philosophy on cooperation, as well as its competency in organization construction, and (b) the mechanism of Central Asian integration will encounter great opportunities for reincarnation, under the facilitation of the SCO.