Objective To explore the clinical effect of external application of traditional Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with wind cold dampness type.Methods Sixty patients with wind cold dampness type of knee osteoarthritis in Pingxiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to June 2023 were selected as the study objects,and were divided into control group and observation group by random number table method,with 30 cases in each group.The control group was treated with acupuncture,and the observation group was treated with external application of traditional Chinese medicine on the basis of control group.The clinical efficacy,recovery time of joint function,improvement degree of joint pain,and changes of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores,Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index(WOMAC)scores before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.Results The total clinical effective rate of the observation group after the end of the treatment course was 96.67%,which was higher than 76.67%in the control group,with statistically significant difference(P＜0.05).The recovery time of joint function in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The excellent and good rate of joint pain improvement in the observation group was 86.67%,which was higher than 50.00%in the control group,with statistically significant difference(P＜0.05).After treatment,the scores of limited mobility,joint cold pain,and knee joint pain in the observation group were lower than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).After treatment,the pain score,stiffness score,and difficulty score of daily activities in the observation group were lower than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences (P＜0.05).Conclusion The combination of traditional Chinese medicine external application and acupuncture has a significant therapeutic effect on knee osteoarthritis of wind cold dampness type,which can effectively improve the knee joint function of patients and is worthy of clinical recommendation.