The invention provides an external traditional Chinese medicinal tincture for treating arthritis. The effective component of the tincture is prepared from the following components by weight: 60g of garden balsam stem, 30g of hypoglaucum schizophragma, 12g of monkshood, 15g of dipsacus root, 15g of fructus psoraleae, 45g of tripterygium glycosides, 50g of caulis sinomenii, 15g of cassia twig, 15g of notopterygium root, 15g of radix angelicae pubescentis, 15g of white peony root, 30g of radix clematidis, 60g of astragalus membranaceus, 12g of radix stephaniae tetrandrae, 12g of divaricate saposhnikovia root, 12g of rhizoma atractylodis, 15g of ighead atractylodes rhizome, 20g of asarum, 15g of earthworm, 30g of spatholobus suberctu, 15g of red peony root, 10g of rhizoma anemarrhenae, 15g of safflower, 10g of monkshood, 10g of liquorice, 15g of achyranthes bidentata, 10g of flos daturae, and 2000g of 75 percent medical alcohol. The external traditional Chinese medicinal tincture has the effects of dredging meridians, activating blood circulation and relieving pain, dispelling cold and eliminating dampness, and strengthening tendon and bones. Currently, observation of curative effect is carried out on 1620 cases, 1530 cases are healed in 12-20 days of application, the cure rate is 94 percent, and the effective rate is 100 percent; adverse response does not occur in the treatment; the tincture can be easily accepted by patients, is good in clinical safety, and has wide popularization and application values.