Objective To analyze the clinical effect of emergency operation and selective operation in the treatment of calcaneal fractures.Methods A total of 69 patients who underwent calcaneal fracture surgery in Changle County People's Hospital of Shandong Province from July 2012 to July 2021 were selected as the study subjects,52 patients underwent emergency surgery,17 cases of patients undergoing elective surgery.The efficacy of emergency operation and elective operation were compared.Results Emergency operation was superior to elective operation in terms of operation time,hospitalization days and hospitalization expenses(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in intraoperative bleeding and postoperative drainage between the two groups(P>0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between emergency surgery and elective surgery(P>0.05).Emergency operation and postoperative elective surgical procedures for 3 months,6 months,12 months visual analogue scale method(VAS)score and the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society(AOFAS)ankle-hindfoot function score showed no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion It is safe and effective to perform emergency open reduction and internal fixation for calcaneal fracture patients admitted to hospital within 6 hours after injury.