Purpose This study aimed to investigate the effect of facilitating shoulder protraction on upper limb function, static and dynamic balance in hemiplegic patients with stroke. Methods A total of 23 patients were randomly allocated into either the study group (SG) of 13 patients or the control group (CG) of 10 patients, respectively. All subjects in the two groups were trained for 30 minutes a session, 10 sessions for 2 weeks. Manual Function Test (MFT) for the upper limb function, Functional Reaching Test (FRT) and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) for the balance, and the 2D video analysis program (Dartfish ProSuite 9.0) for the trunk displacement and elbow extension angles during reaching to grasping were used for the outcome measures. Results In the result of the MFT and TUG, there were significantly improvements in the SG, within and between the groups. FRT was significantly increased in distances in both groups, within and between the groups. During the arm reaching to the task for grasping on the table, elbow extension angle was significantly increased and trunk forward displacement was decreased in the SG. Conclusion This study demonstrated that facilitation of shoulder protraction showed significant improvements in function of the affected upper limb and postural control by decreasing compensatory trunk strategies during arm reaching.