Objective <p>To explore the effect of plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle in the management of reducing surgical site infection rate of craniotomy in neurosurgery.</p> Methods <p>From January 2021 to December 2021, 553 patients underwent craniotomy in neurosurgery were selected to be the control group (CG) before PDCA implementation, From January 2022 to December 2022, 560 patients underwent craniotomy in neurosurgery were selected to be the study group (SG) after PDCA implementation. The CG adopted routine management, and the SG adopted PDCA cycle management on the basis of the CG. The incidence of surgical site infection, detection rate of pathogenic bacteria, quality of hospital management, and patient satisfaction in 2 groups were compared.</p> Results <p>By contrast to the CG, the incidence of surgical site infection in the SG presented lower (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), the detection rate of pathogenic bacteria was lower in the SG (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), the scores of wound treatment, environmental care, ward disinfection and medication supervision in the SG were better (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), and the satisfaction of patients in the SG presented higher (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05).</p> Conclusion <p>The application of PDCA cycle management in the control of surgical site infection of craniotomy in neurosurgery can reduce the incidence of infection, reduce the detection rate of pathogenic bacteria, improve patient satisfaction, and avoid medical disputes, which is worth popularizing.</p>