Background: Medical education has undergone substantial transformation over the past few decades. Traditional lecture-based teaching methods have long been the cornerstone of medical training; however, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has emerged as an innovative student-centered approach aimed at improving critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and self-directed learning. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning and Traditional Teaching Methods in enhancing academic performance, clinical reasoning, knowledge retention, and student satisfaction among medical students. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted involving 600 undergraduate medical students. Participants were divided into two groups: PBL (n=300) and Traditional Teaching (n=300). Academic achievement, clinical problem-solving ability, communication skills, and student satisfaction were assessed through examinations, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), and standardized questionnaires. Results: Students exposed to PBL demonstrated significantly higher clinical reasoning scores (82.6 ± 7.4) compared with traditional learners (71.2 ± 8.6, p<0.001). Knowledge retention after six months was higher among the PBL group (78.4%) than the traditional group (68.7%). Student satisfaction was also greater in the PBL cohort. Conclusion: Problem-Based Learning appears to enhance critical thinking, long-term knowledge retention, communication skills, and learner engagement compared to traditional lecture-based teaching. A hybrid educational model integrating both approaches may provide optimal outcomes in medical education.