Objective To explore the effect of mind map-based nursing intervention on scar healing quality and complications in patients undergoing debridement for upper extremity burns. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 72 patients who underwent debridement for upper extremity burns in the Characteristic Medical Center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force from June 2023 to August 2025. According to different nursing methods, they were divided into the control group (32 patients, receiving conventional nursing intervention) and the observation group (40 patients, receiving mind map-based nursing intervention). The scar healing quality, anxiety, self-efficacy, quality of life and complication rate were compared between the two groups. Results The scar healing time and scar score of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (P <0.05). After intervention, the anxiety score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, and the self-efficacy score was higher than that of the control group (P <0.05). After intervention, the scores of all dimensions of quality of life in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion For patients undergoing debridement for upper extremity burns, the application of mind map-based nursing intervention can effectively improve scar healing quality, relieve anxiety, enhance self-efficacy, improve quality of life, and reduce the incidence of complications.