Abstract Objective To observe the effect of the location and shape of subacromion spur on the efficacy of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.Methods The clinical data of 75 patients with rotator cuff injury and subacromial spur in our department from February 2018 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the location of subacromial spur, the patients were divided into lateral type, anterior type and medial type. The changes of critical shoulder angle,acromion index,acromiohumeral distance,Constant scores and UCLA scores were observed before and after operation.Results ① There were 39 cases (52%) of anterior type, 22 cases (29.33%) of lateral type and 14 cases (18.67%) of medial type.② The range of osteophyte resection in the anterior type was significantly larger than that in the lateral type and the medial type , and the rotator cuff injury area in the lateral type was significantly greater than that in the anterior type and the medial type (P < 0.05).③ The CSA in lateral type was significantly higher than that in anterior type and medial type (P < 0.001). The CSA of lateral type after operation was significantly lower than that before operation (P < 0.001). The AHD of lateral group was significantly higher than that of anterior group and medial group before operation (P < 0.05). The anterior group and medial group was significantly higher than that of preoperative group (P < 0.05).④ After 8 weeks and the last follow-up, the shoulder function scores of the three groups were better than those of the lateral type group (P < 0.05).Conclusion The position of subacromial spur has great influence on the recovery of shoulder joint after rotator cuff repair. The clinical effect of anterior and medial type were better than that of lateral type.