Objective To evaluate the effect of nursing intervention based on PERMA model in patients undergoing scar plastic surgery. Methods A total of 80 patients undergoing scar plastic surgery admitted to the First People's Hospital of Kunshan from October 2022 to October 2024 were selected. According to the random number table method, they were divided into the control group and the observation group, with 40 patients in each group. The control group received traditional nursing, and the observation group received nursing intervention based on PERMA model. The psychosocial adaptation [Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-Report (PAIS-SR)], quality of life [Generic Quality of Life Inventory-74 (GQOL-74)], coping styles [Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ)], posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C)] and nursing satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Results After nursing, the scores of PAIS-SR, negative coping dimension and PCL-C in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, and the scores of each dimension of GQOL-74 and the positive coping dimension in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). The nursing satisfaction in the observation group was 97.50%, which was higher than 77.50% in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The nursing intervention based on PERMA model is beneficial to improving the psychosocial adaptation, quality of life, coping styles, posttraumatic stress disorder and nursing satisfaction of patients undergoing scar plastic surgery, and has high application value.