Objective　To explore the applicability and application effect of formative evaluation in mind mapping combined with PBL in the teaching of medical imaging. Methods　A total of 155 students majoring in clinical medicine (general practice) from the fifth clinical college of Chongqing Medical University were recruited in the study

56 of which were divided in the experimental group and 99 students in the control group

using mind mapping combined with PBL teaching method to carry out medical imaging practice classes. The experimental group were given formative evaluation and questionnaire survey. SPSS 20.0 was used to conduct t test and variance analysis. Results　The questionnaire indicated that 66.0% (37/56) of the students were in favor of the formative evaluation with a Likert score of (4.0±0.7). While the experimental group was superior to the control group in the review test

with statistical significance (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the final scores between the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05)

but the results of case-analysis questions in the experimental group were better than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion　Formative evaluation is applicable to mind mapping combined with PBL in the teaching of medical imaging

which can thoroughly evaluate students' comprehensive ability and quality

improve their sense of self-efficacy

and constantly provide motivation for their learning.