Abstract： Objective： To observe the effect of external application of Qingliang Huohua Powder at different temperatures on knee joint function and inflammatory indexes in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods：A total of 102 cases of patients with knee osteoarthritis were selected and divided into the lowtemperature group，the normal temperature group and the heated group according to random number table method，with 34 cases in each group. The clinical effects and adverse reactions were compared among the three groups. The change in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores，values of inflammatory indexes [serum C-reactive protein (CRP)， interleukin-1 (IL-1)， interleukin-6 (IL-6)， tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α)， erythrocyte settlement rate (ESR)]， Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain， arthritis indexes of Western Ontario and McMaster University Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and Lyshom scores before and after treatment were compared among the three groups. Results：After treatment，the total effective rate was 97.06% in the heated group， higher than those in the low-temperature group and the normal temperature group，the difference being significant (P＜0.05). After treatment，the TCM syndrome scores of joint pain，joint chills，joint fever，joint swelling，soreness and weakness of waist and knees，fatigue and lack of strength in the three groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜ 0.05)， and the above six TCM syndrome scores in the heated group were lower than those in the lowtemperature group and the normal temperature group (P＜0.05). After treatment，the values of CRP，IL-1， IL-6， TNF- α and ESR in serum in the three groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and the above five indexes in the heated group were lower than those in the lowtemperature group and the normal temperature group (P＜0.05). After treatment，VAS scores and WOMAC scores in the three groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and Lysholm scores of knee joint function were increased when compared with those before treatment (P＜ 0.05)；VAS score and WOMAC score in the heated group were lower than those in the other two groups (P＜0.05)， Lysholm score of knee joint function was higher than those in the other two groups (P＜0.05). Conclusion： The external application of heated Qingliang Huohua Powder (37-45 ℃ ) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis can improve the clinical symptoms，reduce the inflammatory reactions，relieve pain and disease degree，and enhance the knee joint function of patients.