Objective To explore the improvement effect of rehabilitation nursing on joint swelling and pain after total knee arthroplasty.Methods According to the digital table,100 patients with total knee arthroplasty were randomly divided into observation group and control group,50 cases in each group.The control group after operation used routine nursing care,the observation group was given targeted rehabilitation nursing.They were compared with visual analogue scale (VAS),American Knee Society Score (AKSS),range of motion (ROM),length of hospital stay,joint swelling degree.Results Mter treatment,the VAS score of the observation group was lower than the control group[(2.43 ±0.51) points vs.(4.58 ± 0.81) points,t =15.882,P ＜ 0.05],AKSS scores and ROM were higher than those in the control group[(69.94 ± 14.23)points vs.(53.23± 12.91)points,(103.47 ± 14.84)° vs.(91.23 ±12.53) °,t =6.149,4.456,all P ＜ 0.05].The hospitalization time of the observation group was shorter than that of the control group[(14.23± 3.81)d vs.(17.82 ± 4.03) d,t =4.577,P ＜0.05].At 3d and 7d after operation,the swelling degree of the observation group was lower than those of the control group[(1.23 ±0.26)mm vs.(1.97 ±0.38)mm,(0.62 ± 0.21) mm vs.(1.38 ± 0.35) mm,t =11.364,13.166,all P ＜ 0.05].Conclusion The application of rehabilitation nursing after total knee joint surgery can effectively relieve joint swelling and pain,and it is worth to be popularized.