Objective To explore the effect of combined intervention of red light irradiation therapy and skin nursing on skin physiological parameters in acne patients. Methods A total of 76 acne patients admitted to our hospital from January 2022 to May 2024 were selected and randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 38 patients in each group. The control group was given skin nursing, and the observation group was given red light irradiation therapy on the basis of the control group. The skin physiological parameters [transepidermal water loss (TEWL), stratum corneum hydration (SCH)], psychological state [self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS)], nursing satisfaction, global acne grading system (GAGS) score and dermatology life quality index (DLQI) score were compared between the two groups. Results After intervention, TEWL in the observation group was lower than that in the control group, and SCH was higher than that in the control group (P <0.05). After intervention, the scores of SAS, SDS, GAGS and DLQI in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The total nursing satisfaction of the observation group was 94.74%, which was higher than 76.32% of the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The combined intervention of red light irradiation therapy and skin nursing can improve the skin physiological parameters and acne symptoms of acne patients, alleviate the adverse psychological state of patients, improve the quality of life, and the patients' satisfaction is high.