Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has emerged as an important worldwide public health problem. Due to the lack of efficacy and major side effects related to many Western medical treatments, traditional Chinese medicine or herbal medicine is very often used to treat this disease. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of Bauhinia championii (Benth.) Benth. extraction (BCBE) in a rat model of RA induced by type-II collagen. Wistar rats with type-II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) were given either 125 or 500 mg/kg of BCBE for RA. Paw swelling and weight were measured, and pathological joint sections of CIA rats were observed using the hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining method. Protein and mRNA expression of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and nuclear transcription factor κB (NF-κB) were determined by western blot analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis in synovial tissue. During therapeutic treatment, BCBE significantly suppressed paw swelling, increased weight loss and ameliorated pathological joint changes. The protein and mRNA expressions of TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB were downregulated in the CIA model when treated with BCBE. In conclusion, these results suggest that the treatment of RA with BCBE confers anti-RA activity and has therapeutic potential in this CIA model.