Objective To explore the methods and effects of medical Chinese teaching reform for international students in a higher vocational college. Methods The 31 international nursing students recruited in 2017 was assigned to the experimental group.The teaching reform was implemented in the experimental group involving integration of theory and practice,increasing the high-frequency professional vocabulary,sentences,and contents related to clinical nursing settings,and adopting the process and final evaluation.Another 30 students of Grade 2016 were assigned to the control group and traditional teaching method was used in this group. The outcomes evaluated included the score of medical Chinese proficiency test,and the satisfaction level students in the experimental group had towards the reform. Results The scores of medical Chinese proficiency test in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group（P<0.01）. Students themselves,instructors and course observers were all satisfied with the teaching methods. Conclusion The medical Chinese teaching reform can effectively improve the language application ability of international students in the higher vocational college and promote their clinical communication ability.