Objective To compare the effects of forearm ffap and anterolateral thigh ffap repair on functional recovery in patients after maxillofacial tumor surgery. Methods A total of 116 patients who underwent ffap transfer repair after maxillofacial tumor surgery admitted to the Department of Stomatology, Chifeng Cancer Hospital from September 2023 to September 2024 were selected. According to the order of admission, they were divided into the control group (March-September 2024) and the experimental group (September 2023-February 2024), with 58 patients in each group. The surgical treatment plans for maxillofacial tumors were consistent between the two groups. The control group was repaired with forearm ffap, and the experimental group was repaired with anterolateral thigh ffap. The perioperative indicators, functional recovery, aesthetics and complications were compared between the two groups. Results The flap preparation time and intraoperative blood loss of the experimental group were better than those of the control group (P<0.05). There were no statistically signiffcant differences in operation time and ffap survival rate between the two groups (P>0.05). The scores of functional recovery in the experimental group at 3 months after operation were all higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). There were no statistically signiffcant differences in aesthetic evaluation of patients and doctors between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of complications in the experimental group was 5.17%, which was lower than 17.24% in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Both forearm ffap and anterolateral thigh ffap have ideal ffap survival rate and operation time in ffap transfer repair after maxillofacial tumor surgery. However, the anterolateral thigh flap repair has more favorable flap preparation time andintraoperative blood loss. Meanwhile, the functional recovery is good, and the incidence of complications is low.