Objective To analyze the clinical effect of intensive pulsed light combined with type A botulinum toxin in the treatment of rosacea and its effect on skin barrier function and quality of life. Methods A total of 50 patients with rosacea admitted to our hospital from December 2022 to December 2023 were selected as the research objects. They were divided into control group and observation group by random number table method, with 25 patients in each group. The control group was treated with type A botulinum toxin, and the observation group was treated with intensivepulsed light combined with type A botulinum toxin. The symptom scores, negative emotions, quality of life and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results The scores of erythema, papule pustule, telangiectasia and pruritus in the observation group were better than those in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the SAS and SDS scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 4.00%, which was lower than 24.00% in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the quality of life score of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The effect of intensive pulsed light combined with type A botulinum toxin in the treatment of rosacea is better, which is conducive to improving the clinical symptoms and psychological status of patients, reducing the incidence of adverse reactions, and optimizing the quality of life of patients. It is worthy of clinical application.