Objective To analyze the application value of PBL teaching model in clinical practice teaching of plastic and burn surgery. Methods A total of 58 interns in plastic and burn surgery who practiced in our hospital from February 2023 to January 2024 were selected as the research subjects. According to the random number table method, they were divided into the reference group and the observation group, with 29 interns in each group. The reference group was taught with the traditional LBL teaching model, and the observation group was taught with the PBL teaching model. The critical thinking disposition, teaching quality and teaching satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Results The scores of critical thinking disposition in the observation group after teaching were higher than those in the reference group (P <0.05). The examination scores of burn knowledge, plastic knowledge, burn treatment and plastic practice in the observation group were higher than those in the reference group (P <0.05). The teaching satisfaction rate of the observation group was 100.00%, which was higher than 86.21% of the reference group (P <0.05). Conclusion For the special surgical field of plastic and burn surgery, choosing the PBL teaching model in clinical practice teaching is more helpful to help interns form critical thinking disposition and improve teaching quality and satisfaction.