Objective To evaluate the effect of mind-map in health education of elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis in community.Methods 71 elderly patients with knee osteoarthropathy were randomly divided into observation group(n=35)and control group(n=36).The control group received routine oral mode health education,and the observation group applied mind map to health education.Before and after the intervention,the self-designed disease knowledge and compliance questionnaire were used to evaluate the effect of two groups of health education.Results There was no significant difference in score between the two groups(P=0.997).After intervention,the score of disease knowledge questionnaire(20.25±3.01)points in the observation group was higher than(18.17±3.12)points in the control group,the difference was statistically significant(t=2.858,P=0.006).At the 1st,3rd and 6th month,the compliance scores of the observation group were(19.35±3.14)points,(19.68±3.22)points,(20.18±3.42)points,respectively,which of the control group were(17.42±3.11)points,(17.89±3.35)points,(18.32±3.47)points,respectively,the differences between the two groups were statistically significant(t=2.602,2.294,2.274,P=0.011,0.025,0.026).The scores of the observation group questionnaire were all more than 3 points,the difference was statistically significant between the two groups(all P=0.000).Conclusion Using mind map to carry out health education to middle-aged and elderly patients with knee joint disease can help patients master disease knowledge and improve compliance,its effect is better than traditional method.