To analyze the effect of detailed nursing based on humanistic care in patients with maxillofacial trauma undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery. Methods A total of 51 patients with maxillofacial trauma who underwent cosmetic plastic surgery in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University from August 2021 to August 2022 were randomly divided into reference group (n =26) and study group (n =25). The reference group was given routine nursing, and the study group was given detailed nursing based on humanistic care. The negative emotions, scar conditions and aesthetic effect satisfaction of the two groups were compared. Results After nursing, the SAS score and SDS score of the study group were lower than those of the reference group, and the differences were statistically significant (P <0.05). The VSS score of the study group after nursing was lower than that of the reference group, and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). The aesthetic effect satisfaction of the study group was 96.00%, which was higher than 69.23% of the reference group, and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). Conclusion The application effect of detailed nursing based on humanistic care in patients with maxillofacial trauma undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery is definite, which can effectively reduce the psychological burden of patients, promote scar repair, and improve the satisfaction of aesthetic effect.