Objective To explore the application effect of narrative teaching method combined with project-driven teaching method in the teaching of geriatric nursing in higher vocational colleges. Methods The teaching design of geriatric nursing courses was improved by formulating teaching objectives，determining project tasks，clarifying narrative materials，and formulating narrative strategies. A total of 112 students from two parallel classes of nursing majors in grade 2021 in a higher vocational college were selected as the research subjects，and narrative teaching combined with project-driven teaching was implemented. After the end of the course，the teaching effect was evaluated using the geriatric nursing teaching evaluation form，final theoretical and skill assessment results，the Chinese version of the Facts on Aging Quiz Scale，and Chinese version of Kogan’s Attitude toward Older People Scale. Results After the implementation of the course，84.82%（95/112） of the students liked the current teaching method of geriatric nursing，89.29%（100/112） of the students said the teaching method was appropriate，reflecting the principle of individualized teaching and could stimulate students’ interest in learning，and 83.04%（93/112） of the students could accept engaging in geriatric nursing work after learning the course；the average scores of the final theory and skill assessments were 81.25 and 83.54，respectively，and the pass rates were 95.54%（107/112） and 99.11% （111/112），respectively；the scores of aging knowledge were higher than those before learning the course（P<0.001）；the scores of positive attitudes towards older adults，negative attitudes，and total attitudes were all higher than those before learning the course（P<0.001）. Conclusion The application of narrative teaching method combined with project-driven teaching method in the teaching of geriatric nursing in higher vocational colleges can help improve students’ learning interest，enhance their learning effect and aging knowledge level，and improve their attitude towards older adults.