Considering the oscillation phenomenon of the original dynamic window approach (DWA) in path planning, an improved DWA path planning algorithm is designed, which is integrated with the artificial potential field method. Firstly, the safety constraint of the DWA algorithm is improved, and the linear obstacle distance evaluation function in the original DWA is improved to the nonlinear obstacle potential field function in the artificial potential field method. Secondly, the improved DWA is combined with the smooth A* path of the gradient descent method to solve the problem of poor global planning of the traditional algorithm. Finally, the feasibility of the algorithm is verified by simulation experiments and physical experiments. In the simulation experiments, compared with the original algorithm, the improved algorithm in this paper reduces the path of the designed obstacle scene by 9.84%, reduces the running time by 31.71%, and improves the smoothness by 6.49%. Meanwhile, compared with the results of related literatures, the results of this paper have been improved to different degrees in different scenarios. In the physical experiments of automated guided vehicle, the path length is reduced by 10.76% and the elapsed time is reduced by 13.09%. Therefore, the improved DWA generates better path smoothness, shorter path length and shorter elapsed time.