〔Abstract〕Objective To observe the clinical effect of external washing with traditional Chinese medicine on skin pruritus in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Methods A total of 60 patients with MHD complicated with skin pruritus admitted in People's Hospital of Zhengzhou from March 2017 to December 2018 were selected and randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 30 cases in each group. The control group received routine treatment (hemodialysis twice a week and hemodiafiltration once a week), and the observation group received external washing with traditional Chinese medicine on this basis. The curative effect, pruritus symptom score, blood phosphorus (P) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the observation group was 80.0%, which was higher than 56.7% of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in pruritus score between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). After treatment, pruritus score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in blood P and iPTH between two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). After treatment, blood P and iPTH in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion Traditional Chinese medicine external washing treatment for hemodialysis patients complicated with skin pruritus is effective, which can significantly reduce the symptoms of pruritus, and does not increase the water load of patients.