Knee diseases, especially osteoarthritis of the knee, have led to family and social involvement due to their high prevalence and severe impact on independent living. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the main treatment modality for patients with end-stage knee disease, and postoperative swelling after TKA has become an important factor that reduces the efficacy of the surgery and hinders the patient's recovery due to a combination of mechanisms. Although with the advancement of perioperative management and technology, there is still a lack of systematic compilation and discussion on the Chinese and Western medicine treatment of postoperative swelling after TKA. The purpose of this article is to discuss the pathogenesis of postoperative swelling (systemic and local inflammatory reactions, occult blood loss and tourniquet reaction, etc.),list the Chinese and Western medical treatments, and conduct an in-depth research and discussion by collecting relevant literature in recent years. In view of the complex pathogenesis, single treatment method and lack of attention to the existing problems of postoperative swelling, an overview of the recent studies on the treatment of postoperative swelling after TKA by Chinese and Western medicine is given, with a view to providing more personalised and diversified treatments for this type of patients, and efficient and safe therapeutic solutions for the clinic. It was found that the combination of Chinese and Western medicines in the treatment of postoperative swelling had better clinical effects in the vast majority of cases, especially the internal and external treatments of Chinese medicine, which are often neglected by the clinic, showed greater potential. The combination of Chinese and Western medicine provides more diversified and multimodal options for clinical practice, which is not only conducive to patients' postoperative recovery, but also effective in alleviating the burden on hospitals and society.