Objective To investigate the effect of different preoperative scalp cleaning methods on surgical site infection (SSI) of neurosurgery. Methods Patients who underwent selective surgery in a neurosurgery treatment group from January 2016 to December 2017 were observed and followed up through targeted monitored method. Patients from January to December 2016 were in control group, they performed routine scalp cleaning one day before operation; patients from January to December 2017 were in intervention group, they increased the frequency of scalp cleaning, performed 3 times of scalp cleaning (3 days, 1 day before operation and on the day of operation). General data and SSI of two groups of patients were collected. Results A total of 544 patients who underwent craniocerebral surgery were investigated, 265 in control group and 279 in intervention group. Incidence of SSI in intervention group was lower than that in control group (2.51%[7/279] vs 6.04%[16/265], χ²=4.18, P=0.04). The ave-rage length of hospital stay in control group was significantly higher than that in intervention group ([21.21±7.83] days vs[18.78±8.39] days, t=-3.49, P=0.001). The average hospitalization cost of control group and intervention group were (49 356.07±46 725.34) yuan and (48 846.29±32 650.03) yuan respectively, with no significant difference (t=-0.15, P=0.88). Conclusion Strict scalp cleaning and scalp hygiene is conducive to reducing the incidence of SSI in neurosurgery.