To analyze the effect of surgical plastic repair at different times after hand burn and its effect on range of motion. Methods Sixty patients with scar contracture deformity after hand burn admitted to our hospital from January 2022 to April 2023 were selected as the research objects. According to the different plastic repair time, they were divided into control group and observation group, with 30 patients in each group. The control group underwent surgical plastic repair after 10 days of burn, and the observation group underwent surgical plastic repair within 10 days of burn. The range of motion, clinical efficacy, quality of life and complications were compared between the two groups. Results After treatment, the ROM score of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P <0.05). The total effective rate of treatment in the observation group was 96.67%, which was higher than 80.00% in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the scores of quality of life in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group was 6.67%, which was lower than 26.67% in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion For patients with scar contracture deformity after hand burn, surgical plastic repair within 10 days after burn can effectively improve the range of motion, which is conducive to reducing the incidence of complications such as postoperative infection and skin graft necrosis, and has positive significance for improving the prognosis and quality of life of patients.