Visual display terminal (VDT) and paper are indispensable reading mediums in peoples life. Providing suitable lighting environment for VDT and paper interactive reading is an important development direction to improve the quality of indoor lighting environment and meet public health needs. In order to explore the impact of lighting environment on the vision and cognition of interactive reading, we conducted subjective and objective evaluation experiments by using a combination method of subjective evaluation, visual task performance, and physiological index measurement. An experimental platform was established to study the effects of four lighting parameters (horizontal illuminance, illuminance ratio, color temperature, and screen brightness) on the visual perception (visual comfort, visual efficacy, and visual fatigue) and cognitive performance (cognitive efficiency and emotional arousal) of interactive reading. Experimental results show that for interactive reading, horizontal illuminance had the greatest impact on visual fatigue. Illuminance ratio had a significant impact on visual perception and cognitive performance. The color temperature of the light source had the greatest impact on visual comfort and visual efficacy. The brightness of the VDT screen had the greatest impact on visual fatigue, cognitive efficiency, and emotional arousal. According to parameter analysis, the optimal lighting environment parameters for interactive reading with high visual comfort and high emotional arousal are horizontal illuminance 750 lx, vertical illuminance 300 lx (illuminance ratio 2.5), and color temperature 4 000 K, and the best screen brightness is 100 cd/m². The optimal lighting environment parameters for interactive reading with high visual efficiency, high cognitive efficiency, and low visual fatigue are horizontal illuminance 300 lx, vertical illuminance 200 lx (illuminance ratio 1.5), and color temperature 5 000 K, and the recommended screen brightness is 100 cd/m². The results can provide basis for the lighting design and optimization of interactive reading.