To explore the effect ofglycolic acid peels combined with intensive pulsed light in the treatment of chloasma and its effect on skin lesion score. Methods Seventy-six patients with chloasma admitted to Guangzhou Medical Beauty Clinic Co., Ltd. from March 2022 to March 2023 were selected as study subjects, and were randomly divided into the reference group and treatment group, with 38 patients in each group. The reference group was given intensive pulsed light, and the treatment group was given glycolic acid peels intervention on this basis. The therapeutic effects, oxidative stress indexes, VISIA skin characteristics and skin lesions were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the treatment group after intervention was 97.37%, which was higher than 84.21% of the reference group (P ＜0.05). The improvement of MDA, SOD and GSP-Px in the treatment group was better than that in the reference group (P ＜0.05). The scores of pigment spots, wrinkles, textures and pores in the treatment group were lower than those in the reference group (P ＜0.05). The skin lesion score and transepidermal water loss in the treatment group were lower than those in the reference group, and the skin stratum corneum water content was higher than that in the reference group (P ＜0.05). Conclusion Glycolic acid peels combined with intensive pulsed light is effective in the treatment of chloasma, which can improve the degree of skin lesions and oxidative stress indicators, and improve the skin barrier function.