【Abstract】 Objective To compare the clinical effects of radiofrequency ablation and traditional segmental stripping in the treatment of lower limb superficial varicose veins. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 160 patients who underwent surgery for lower limb superficial varicose veins in Sanming First Hospital from January 2021 to December 2023. The patients were divided into two groups based on the type of surgery: the observation group (underwent radiofrequency ablation, n=80) and the control group (underwent traditional segmental stripping, n=80). Surgical-related indicators, changes in CEAP classification, quality of life scores (CIVIQ), and the occurrence of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Results The observation group showed significantly better results than the control group in terms of intraoperative blood loss, 24-hour postoperative VAS scores, time to first ambulation, and postoperative hospital stay (P ＜ 0.001). At three months postoperatively, both groups exhibited significant improvement in CEAP classification compared to pre-operative levels (P ＜ 0.001), with the observation group showing greater improvement than the control group (P ＜ 0.05). Similarly, both groups showed significant improvements in all dimensions of CIVIQ scores at 3 months postoperatively (P ＜ 0.001), with the observation group displaying significantly greater improvements than the control group (P ＜ 0.001). The overall complication rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (6.25% vs 18.75%, P=0.017). Conclusions Compared to traditional segmental stripping, radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of lower limb superficial varicose veins has the advantages of reduced trauma, faster recovery, fewer complications, and more significant improvements in quality of life making it a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment method.