Objective To analyze the effects of sufentanil combined with ropivacaine on patient-controlled epidural analgesia after cesarean section. Methods Maternal performed the cesarean section and postoperative patient-controlled epidural analgesia in our hospital from September 2013 to February 2016 were included in the study. The clinical data of the two groups were compared and analyzed. 130 cases of maternal with ropivacaine analgesia were selected as the control group, and another 130 cases of maternal with sufentanil combined with ropivacaine by1: 1 ratio were selected as the observation group, and analgesic effects were compared and analyzed between the two groups. Results After checking and analyzing, the proportion of VAS score of 0-3 and 4-6 points in the observation group using sufentanil combined with ropivacaine epidural analgesia were significant higher than that in the control group, and the total effective rate was 88.46%, which was higher than that in the control group with 77.69%. At different time points, the VAS scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group when they were resting and turning over, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). However, during the postoperative analgesia, there were 2 cases of nausea and vomiting, 3 cases of low blood pressure, 5 cases of lower limb numbness, 2 cases of skin itching and 3 cases of dizziness in the observation group. And the total incidence rate was 10.77% in the observation group and 11.14% in the control group, therefore the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion Sufentanil can have superior analgesic effect, and the combination with ropivacaine can not only have good safety, but also have a synergistic analgesic mechanism to significantly reduce the pain after cesarean section.