Objective To analyze the effect of tanshinone combined with tretinoin ointment in the treatment of acne. Methods A total of 80 patients with acne admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to January 2022 were randomly divided into control group and experimental group, with 40 cases in each group. The control group was treated with tanshinone, and the experimental group was treated with tanshinone combined with tretinoin ointment. The clinical efficacy, incidence of adverse reactions and quality of life scores were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of treatment in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The quality of life score of the experimental group after treatment was higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Tanshinone combined with tretinoin ointment has a definite clinical effect in the treatment of acne, and the incidence of adverse reactions is low. Meanwhile, it can effectively alleviate the symptoms of patients and improve the quality of life, which is worthy of clinical application.