Osteoarthritis(OA) is a degenerative disease characterized by degeneration and injury of articular cartilage and reactive hyperplasia of articular edge and subchondral bone.It is highly prevalent in middle-aged and elderly people and the treatment mainly focuses on alleviating the symptoms and slowing down the progression.The external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) with a long history has demonstrated significant therapeutic effect，simple operation，and high safety.The external treatment of ethnic medicine is even more unique，capable of mitigating the clinical symptoms and improving the quality of life of OA patients.In recent years，the external treatment of TCM has been widely used in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of OA and has achieved fruitful achievements.This paper reviewed the research progress in the external treatment of OA by TCM and put forward the shortcomings and further research prospects of such treatment，aiming to provide references for the follow-up research.