Objective To explore the generalizability and implementation effectiveness of standardized clinical pathways of food for special medical purpose (FSMP). Methods From November 10, 2023 to November 30, 2023, a pilot study for the standardized clinical pathway of FSMP in medical institutions was conducted at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School), Chenzhou First People’s Hospital, and the Second People’s Hospital of Yibin. The hospitalized patients using FSMP in these three hospitals were continuously included to analyze the feasibility and effectiveness of the pathway. Results A total of 99 patients were included. The overall effect evaluation of the pathway showed that the proportion of convenient medical order (96.9%), timely delivery (100.0%), and easy storage (96.9%) were relatively high. The proportion of patients with good compliance was 88.9%, the proportion of patients who achieved treatment goals was 51.5%, and the proportion of patients who suspended the use of FSMP in advance was 19.2%. The incidence of gastrointestinal complications, metabolic complications, and infectious complications in patients were relatively low (<30%), and the median (lower quartile, upper quartile) satisfaction scores for patients, family members, and nurses were all 9.0 (8.0, 10.0) points. There was no statistically significant difference in the process evaluation indicators or satisfaction of FSMP clinical pathways between different prescribing personnel (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the process evaluation indicators or satisfaction of FSMP clinical pathways between different nutritional support methods (P>0.05). Conclusions The FSMP clinical pathway pilot has performed well in terms of convenience, compliance, satisfaction, with a low incidence of complications. The pathway is effective and safe, and can be widely applied.