Considering the security and efficiency, an efficient controlled quantum secure direct communication(CQSDC) protocol based on GHZ-like state is proposed. In this protocol, the receiver can recover the sender’s secret message under the permission of the controller. The proposed proctocol is secure and efficient. Results show that the eavesdropping and CNOT attack detection in preliminary stage can ensure the security of GHZ-like state sharing. Controlling operations by using messages can reduce the use of quantum states, and thus the efficiency is improved. The legal states of the receiver is the two of four Bell states. If there exists CNOT attack, illegal Bell states would appear, which enables the receiver to detect CNOT attack in secret direct communication phase. Effectiveness of the proposed scheme is proved by comparison.