Objective The aim of this study was to explore the inhibitory effect of alcohol extracts of Narcissus bulb on melanogenesis in zebrafish embryos. Methods Zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations of alcohol extracts of Narcissus (0, 50, 100, 200, and 500 μg/mL), and then the formation of melanin was observed. Furthermore, we measured the enzyme activity of tyrosinase (TYR), which plays a pivotal role in melanogenesis. Meanwhile, the spatial and temporal pattern of melanin-specific marker genes were detected. Arbutin (Ar) was used as a positive control in all these experiments. Results The treatment of alcohol extracts of Narcissus bulb inhibited melanogenesis in the zebrafish embryos in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of melanin-related genes such as tyrosinase (TYR), silver (SILV) and Mitfa were significantly reduced after treatment with different concentrations of Narcissus extracts by in-situ and semi-quantitative PCR. Finally, the enzyme activity of tyrosinase was also gradually decreased with increasing concentrations of the alcohol extracts. Conclusions Narcissus alcohol extracts can effectively inhibit the production of melanin in zebrafish embryos. This study provides potential evidence and approaches for the screening of natural whitening compounds using zebrafish models.