Objective To compare the effects of WeChat applet follow-up and traditional follow-up on postoperative recovery quality of patients undergoing ambulatory knee arthroscopy surgery. Methods Participants who planned to undergo knee arthroscopic meniscus repair in the Ambulatory Surgery Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between September 2024 and April 2025 were enrolled. Patients were divided into WeChat applet follow-up group (App group) and traditional telephone follow-up group (control group) by random number table method. The basic information of patients was collected, and the quality of recovery, pain score, medication use, nausea and vomiting, sleep quality, analgesic satisfaction and satisfaction with treatment were evaluated on the first and third day after surgery. Results A total of 80 patients was enrolled, with 40 patients in each group. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups (P>0.05). The total score of postoperative recovery quality in the control group was lower than that in the App group [postoperative day 1: (108.2±9.6) vs. (112.5±9.2) scores, postoperative day 3: (112.0±9.1) vs. (118.3±8.7) scores], physiological comfort [postoperative day 1: (21.8±2.9) vs. (23.4±2.7) scores, postoperative day 3: (23.1±2.6) vs. (25.6±2.4) scores]. There were no significant differences between the two groups in postoperative nausea and vomiting, length of stay in post-anesthetic care unit, total dosage of postoperative analgesics, time to first report of pain, time to first request for analgesia, sleep quality score on the night after surgery, and analgesic satisfaction score within 24 hours after surgery (P>0.05). The satisfaction score of the App group was higher than that of the control group at 1 week after surgery (P<0.001). Conclusion Compared with the traditional follow-up method, the follow-up based on the WeChat applet can effectively improve the early postoperative recovery quality and treatment satisfaction of patients undergoing ambulatory knee arthroscopy surgery, and has no significant effect on other clinical outcomes.