Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of platysma musculocutaneous flap in the repair of maxillofacial trauma. Methods A total of 125 patients with maxillofacial trauma treated in our hospital from June 2015 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Sixty -three patients were treated with platysma musculocutaneous flap as the experimental group, while 62 patients were treated with anterolateral thigh musculocutaneous flap as the control group. The operation time, intra-operative blood loss, hospitalization days, donor wound healing time, wound healing time, maxillofacial function score and complication rate were compared between the two groups. Results The operation time, intra-operative blood loss and wound healing time of the donor side in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the length of hospital stay and wound healing time between the two groups (P>0.05). The score of maxillofacial function in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). The skin flap necrosis rate (3.17% vs. 11.29%) and the complication rate (12.70% vs. 24.9%) of the experimental group were both significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Repairing the maxillofacial trauma with the platysma musculocutaneous flap can significantly reduce the intra-operative risk, improve the prognostic function of the maxillofacial region and reduce complications. It is worthy of clinical promotion.