Objective To explore the effect of goal-oriented nursing intervention on postoperative pain intensity and eyelid aesthetic effect in patients with ptosis. Methods A total of 102 patients who underwent ptosis surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from March 2023 to February 2026 were selected, and they were divided into the conventional group and the observation group by the random number table method, with 51 patients in each group. The conventional group was given conventional postoperative nursing, and the observation group was additionally given goal-oriented nursing intervention. The postoperative pain intensity, eyelid aesthetic effect, complication rate and nursing satisfaction rate were compared between the two groups. Results The scores of VAS in the observation group at 1, 3 and 5 days after surgery were lower than those in the conventional group (P <0.05). The scores of bilateral eyelid width symmetry, bilateral eyelid height symmetry and upper eyelid contour in the observation group were higher than those in the conventional group (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups (P >0.05). The nursing satisfaction rate of the observation group (96.08%) was higher than that of the conventional group (82.35%) (P <0.05). Conclusion Postoperative goal-oriented nursing intervention for patients with ptosis can effectively relieve postoperative pain, and achieve favorable eyelid aesthetic effect, without increasing the risk of complications. It has high patient recognition.