Objective To explore the effect of narrow-band ultraviolet B combined with topical calcipotriol ointment and traditional Chinese medicine bath on traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Methods A total of 90 patients with psoriasis vulgaris treated in the Department of Dermatology, Xiangcheng District Dermatology Hospital from August 2023 to October 2024 were selected as the research subjects, and they were divided into the control group and the observation group by the random number table method, with 45 patients in each group. The control group was treated with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB)+topical calcipotriol ointment, and the observation group was treated with traditional Chinese medicine bath on the basis of the control group. The clinical efficacy, dermoscopy scores, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score, quality of life and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of treatment in the observation group was 93.33%, which was higher than 77.78% in the control group (P <0.05). The dermoscopy scores of each dimension and the total score in the observation group after treatment were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score of the observation group after treatment was (4.54±0.85)scores, which was lower than (6.02±1.03)scores of the control group (P <0.05). The quality of life score of the observation group after treatment was (7.45±1.23)scores, which was lower than (9.38±1.42)scores of the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 2.22%, which was lower than 13.33% in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion NB-UVB combined with topical calcipotriol ointment and traditional Chinese medicine bath in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris can achieve ideal clinical effects, reduce traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score and dermoscopy score, improve quality of life, and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions.