Background <p>Echocardiography is an essential diagnostic tool in clinical practice, and its effective teaching is crucial for medical students, especially for those in their internship stage. Traditional teaching methods often struggle to fully equip students with the practical skills proficiently. Therefore, there is a growing need for more innovative, structured approaches to improve the quality and efficiency of echocardiography training.</p> Objective <p>The application value of the graded progressive image-model teaching was evaluated in echocardiography teaching for undergraduate students using learning curves.</p> Methods <p>A total of 20 undergraduate students who interned at our hospital from September 2021 to December 2024 were selected as study participants. They were randomly assigned into an experimental group (<i>n</i> = 10) and a control group (<i>n</i> = 10) using a random number table. The experimental group received graded progressive image-model teaching method, while the control group received traditional teaching method. After three months of teaching, the students’ echocardiography practical skills and theoretical exam scores were assessed. Additionally, a questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching approach. Learning curves for echocardiography examination time were constructed for both groups using the cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis.</p> Results <p>The experimental group demonstrated significantly shorter times in 2D imaging and measurements, M-mode imaging and measurements, Doppler imaging and measurements, and total echocardiography operation time compared to the control group, and their theoretical exam scores were significantly higher (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). The learning curve analysis showed that the experimental group entered the proficient mastery stage earlier and had a shorter learning growth stage than the control group. Questionnaire results indicated that the experimental group scored significantly higher in six aspects: active learning ability, clearly identifying personal learning shortcomings, enhanced spatial understanding of cardiac structures, appropriate learning difficulty, more targeted teacher feedback, and high interest in practical operation learning (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05).</p> Conclusion <p>The graded progressive image-model teaching in echocardiography education helps students quickly reach proficiency in practical skills, improving both theoretical knowledge and practical abilities in echocardiography.</p>