Objective To investigate the effects of butylphthalide combined with shuxuening on cognitive function and activity of daily living (ADL) of patients with vascular dementia (VD).Methods A prospective research method was conducted, one hundred and one light and moderate VD patients admitted to Harrison International Peace Hospital from July 2014 to November 2016 were enrolled, and they were divided into a control group (49 cases) and an observation group (52 cases) according to random number tables. The two groups were given routine basic treatment, the control group received Shuxuening injection once a day for 2 courses (2 weeks as a course), while the observation group was additionally treated by butylphthalide capsule 0.2 g on the basis of the control group treatment. Before the treatment and 1 and 2 courses after treatment, the cognitive function was evaluated by mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Hastgawa Dementia Scale (HDS), ADL was evaluated by ADL scale; the efficacy and adverse reactions were observed.Results The MMSE, HDS and ADL scores were increased gradually after treatment in the two groups, reached the highest degree after 2 courses of treatment, and the degrees of increase in the above indicators in observation group were more significant than those in the control group (MMSE score: 27.92±3.51 vs. 23.88±3.31, HDS score: 20.13±2.33 vs. 17.68±2.42, ADL score: 82.14±6.68 vs. 68.17±5.79, allP < 0.05). The total effective rate of observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [86.5% (45/52) vs. 75.5% (37/49), P < 0.05], and the incidence of adverse reactions was lower than that in the control group [1.9% (1/52) vs. 4.1% (2/49)], being no significant difference between the two groups in adverse reaction (P > 0.05).Conclusions Polybutylene phthalate capsule combined with shuxuening injection can significantly improve the cognitive function and quality of life of patients with vascular dementia,and the clinical efficacy is safe and reliable.