Magnesium alloys have been known as the next generation material for lightweight body structures. Pulsating hydroforming is an effective method to improve magnesium alloy sheet forming performance, and the formed parts are characterized by lightweight, high-specific strength and stiffness. The deformation performance of magnesium alloy sheet AZ31B with a thickness of 0.6 mm under pulsating hydroforming has been investigated by means of experimental study, numerical simulation and theoretical analysis. The results show that under the same maximum hydraulic pressure, compared with simple linear loading, the magnesium alloy forming parts with pulsating hydraulic loading not only have better wall thickness uniformity and larger bulging height but also can delay the occurrence of fracture, improve the forming performance and ultimate the forming ability of magnesium alloy sheet. A new evaluation index is proposed to simplify the comprehensive forming performance of magnesium alloy parts with different amplitudes and frequencies more accurately, which can also be applied to determine the optimal forming parameters of magnesium alloy sheet AZ31B in the pulsating loading condition.