Objective To explore the effectiveness of concept maps in the curriculum delivery of clinical medicine summary. Methods A controlled experimental design was employed. Between March and June 2023,four classes of 120 students from the 2021 cohort of the four-year medical imaging technology program at Hunan University of Medicine were enrolled as research subject, two classes of 60 students were enrolled as the experimental group, while another two classes of 60 students served as the control group by drawing lots. In the clinical medicine summary course, students in the experimental group were taught using concept maps, whereas the control group received traditional teaching methods. After the course, the concept map drawing abilities of the experimental group were evaluated, and the evaluations on the application of concept maps of the experimental group were collected, and comparisons were made between the two groups in terms of regular grades and final exam scores and teaching satisfaction. Statistical analyses were performed using independent sample t-tests and χ² tests. Results The concept map scores of the experimental group before the introduction of concept maps were (78.62±4.77) points. After the concept map-based instruction, their scores on subsequent concept maps were (89.70±5.03), (90.97±4.29), and (91.27±3.68), which were all higher than the initial score (all P<0.05). The regular grade of the experimental group were (36.07±1.94), which were higher than those of the control group (33.93±1.96). The final exam scores of the experimental group were (50.35±3.78), which were higher than those of the control group (46.63±4.27). The experimental group rated their learning initiative as (3.68±1.30), higher than the control group's score of (3.03±1.77). The experimental group also rated their teaching satisfaction as (3.77±1.21), higher than the control group's rating of (2.98±1.94), with all statistical differences (all P<0.05). Conclusions The use of concept maps in the clinical medicine summary course helps students master concept map drawing, promotes active learning, increases student satisfaction with teaching, and enhances overall teaching effectiveness.