Objective To explore the effect of humanized nursing measures based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory in patients with occupational acne. Methods Forty patients with occupational acne admitted to our hospital from March 2021 to March 2024 were randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 20 patients in each group. The control group adopted the routine nursing mode, and the observation group adopted the humanized nursing based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. The skin lesion relief, self-care ability, compliance, psychological state and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of skin lesion relief in the observation group was 95.00%, which was higher than 60.00% in the control group (P <0.05). The self-care ability score of the two groups after nursing was higher than that before nursing, and that in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P <0.05). The compliance score of the two groups after nursing was higher than that of the control group, and that in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P <0.05). The SAS and SDS scores of the two groups after nursing were lower than those before nursing, and those in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 5.00%, which was lower than 35.00% in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The application of humanized nursing based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory in patients with occupational acne is effective, which can improve the patient's self-care ability, skin lesion relief efficiency, psychological state and patient compliance, as well as reduce the risk of adverse reactions.