Objective To investigate the effect of intensive pulsed light combined with fusidic acid cream in patients with moderate acne. Methods A total of 72 patients with moderate acne admitted to our hospital from September 2022 to September 2023 were selected as the research objects. They were divided into control group and observation group by random number table method, with 36 patients in each group. The control group was treated with intensive pulsed light, and the observation group was treated with fusidic acid cream on the basis of the control group. The clinical efficacy, skin symptom score, inflammatory factor level and quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the observation group was 97.22%, which was higher than 77.78% of the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the scores of acne, inflammatory papules and pustules in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the quality of life score in the observation group was (93.27±4.64)scores, which was higher than (88.75±5.32)scores in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion Intensive pulsed light combined with fusidic acid cream is effective in the treatment of moderate acne patients, which can improve the skin symptoms, reduce the level of inflammatory factors and improve the quality of life of patients. It is worthy of clinical application.