OBJECTIVE: This research was designed to investigate the effects of craniotomy clipping and interventional embolization (IE) on the treatment efficacy, cognitive function and recovery of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS: A total of 148 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (ASAH) who underwent surgery in our hospital from December 2017 to August 2019 were included. They were divided into the clipping group (CG) (68 cases) and intervention group (IG) (80 cases) according to different surgical methods. The former received craniotomy clipping, and the latter underwent IE. The postoperative clinical indexes of patients were observed. The immune function (IgG, IgM, IgA) and inflammatory indexes (TNF-α, IL-8, HS-CRP) were detected before and after operation. The improvement of cognitive function, neurological function and sleep quality before and after operation was evaluated. Three months after operation, the treatment efficacy was evaluated and the postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: The time of operation and hospitalization of patients in the IG were dramatically less than those in the CG (P < 0.05). The levels of IgG, IgM and IgA in the IG were higher than those in the CG after operation, while those of TNF-α, IL-8 and hs-CRP in the IG were lower than those in the CG. The MOCA scores of patients in the IG were obviously higher than those in the CG (P < 0.05), and the NIHSS and PSQI scores of patients in the IG were markedly lower than those in the CG. The total effective rate of patients in the IG was remarkably higher than that in the CG (P < 0.05), while the total incidence of postoperative complications in the IG was markedly lower than that in the CG. CONCLUSION: IE is effective in the treatment of SAH patients, reducing the damage of immune, cognitive and nerve functions, with a high efficacy.