Abstract: The plant reducing agent-honeysuckle extract and the chemical reducing agent-glycerol were used to reduce silver nitrate to prepare two kinds of nano silver solutions. Then, the two nano-silver solutions prepared by the plant reduction method and the chemical reduction method were used for functional finishing of the cotton fabrics by the dipping method. The morphology and structure of cotton fabrics before and after finishing were analyzed by SEM, EDS, XRD, and FTIR. The anti-ultraviolet properties of silver-loaded cotton fabrics and the changes in silver content, color difference, and antibacterial performance after different washing times were discussed. The results show that the nano-silver particles were mainly adsorbed on the amorphous region of cotton fibers by Van der Waals' force. Compared with the chemical reduction method, the particle size of nano-silver prepared by the plant reduction method decreased by about 15 nm. After 50 times of washing, the adsorption amount and color difference of nano silver on the surface of the cotton fabric treated by plant method did not change much, and the antibacterial rate against E. coli and S. aureus still reached more than 99%. It had excellent antibacterial properties and good washing resistance. In addition, the UPF value of the cotton fabric treated by the plant reduction method reached 36.82, which had good UV resistance.