Objective To explore the effect of art therapy combined with acupoint massage on community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Methods A total of 50 community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group, each with 25 cases. The control group received routine health education, while the intervention group received 12 sessions of art therapy combined with acupoint massage intervention for 6 weeks on the basis of routine health education. The overall cognitive function and specific cognitive domains (memory function, language function and executive function) were assessed before and after the intervention. Results Twenty-five cases in the intervention group and 23 in the control group completed the study. After the intervention, the scores of overall cognitive function and specific cognitive domains in the intervention group were significantly improved compared with the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion Art therapy combined with acupoint massage can effectively improve the cognitive function and specific cognitive domains of older adults with mild cognitive impairment in the community, which is worthy of further promotion and application in the community.