Objective To investigate the application effect of acupoint ultrasound wave therapy combined with traditional Chinese medicine plaster in patients with malignant tumors receiving chemotherapy. Methods A 1:1:1 parallel block randomized controlled design was adopted. A total of 144 patients with malignant tumors undergoing chemotherapy admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from February to November 2025 were enrolled and divided into a control group, a traditional Chinese medicine plaster group, or a combined treatment group, with 48 patients in each group. All three groups received routine oncology nursing. Based on the therapy of the control group, the traditional Chinese medicine plaster group was treated with traditional Chinese medicine plaster, and based on which the combined treatment group received additional ultrasound wave therapy at Shenque (CV8) and Guanyuan (CV4) acupoints. The treatment course lasted for 5 days in all groups. The therapeutic efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes after intervention, as well as quality of life and physical performance before intervention and at the 3rd week after intervention completion were compared among the three groups. Results After intervention, the total effective rate of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes in the combined treatment group was 95.8%, higher than the 72.9% in the traditional Chinese medicine plaster group and the 45.8% in the control group (all P<0.05). At the 3rd week after intervention, the scores for physical well-being and functional well-being domains of the Chinese-version Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), as well as Karnofsky Performance Status scores, in the combined treatment group were superior to those in the other two groups (all P<0.05), presenting a gradient order: combined treatment group>traditional Chinese medicine plaster group>control group. There was no statistically significant intergroup difference in the scores of social/family well-being or emotional well-being domain of Chinese-version FACT-G (all P>0.05). Conclusion Acupoint ultrasound wave therapy combined with traditional Chinese medicine plaster can effectively improve traditional Chinese medicine syndromes in patients with malignant tumors undergoing chemotherapy. It shows advantages over traditional Chinese medicine plaster monotherapy and routine nursing in alleviating gastrointestinal reactions and improving physical performance, exerts synergistic effects, and contributes to the improvement of patients' quality of life.

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