Objective To explore the effects of physical exercise combined with music on memory, psychological symptoms, and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with mild Alzheimer′s disease (AD). Methods Eighty-nine patients with mild AD admitted to our hospital from December 2016 to May 2018 were randomly divided into physical exercise combined with music group (musicokinetic therapy group, n=31), physical exercise without music accompaniment group (physical therapy group, n=30) and control group (n=28). Similar physical exercise were performed in the former 2 groups with music accompaniment or not, at ≥3 times per week, for ≥200 min per time, totally 3 consecutive months. The patients from the control group received no special interventions according to routine diagnosis and treatment. All subjects were given neuropsychological tests before and in 3 months after the interventions. SPSS statistics 13.0 was used to perform the statistical analysis. Student′s t test, Chi-square test, or analysis of variance was employed for intergroup comparison depending on different data types. Results In 3 months after intervention, the musicokinetic therapy group obtained significantly higher mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score when compared with the control group [(18.90±1.92) vs (17.60±2.10)points, P<0.05]. And the score of neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) was decreased from (19.19±5.25) to (16.03±5.61) points in the musicokinetic therapy group (P<0.05), and from (18.90±6.47) to (15.80±5.38) points in the physical therapy group (P<0.05). The distress score of caregivers was also greatly improved in above 2 groups [from (20.90±6.48) to (17.16±5.37) points and from (21.93±6.77) to (19.30±7.20) points, respectively; both P<0.05]. The ADL score was decreased in the control group after treatment [(81.07±6.29) vs (85.31±6.37) points, P<0.05]. There were no significant difference in the results of Auditory Verbal Learning Test among the 3 groups before and after treatment (all P>0.05). Conclusion Musicokinetic therapy can improve the memory and mental symptoms of mild AD patients, but no obvious advantages are observed when compared with simple physical therapy.