Objective To evaluate the effcacy of arthroscopic heel spur fasciotomy for the treatment of refractory plantar fasciitis in elderly patients. Methods Twenty-two patients with plantar fasciitis diagnosed from Jan. 2014 to Jun. 2017 in the Department of Orthopedics of Changzheng Hospital of Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University) were enrolled. All the patients aged ≥ 70 years old, with the course lasting for more than 6 months and incurable pain after a variety of treatment, and received arthroscopic heel spur removal and partial iliac fascia lysis. The time for the recovery of daily walking was recorded. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score and the calcaneodynia score (CS) at 1 month after surgery and the 12-item short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-12) score at 6 months after surgery of the patients were analyzed and compared with the preoperative data to evaluate the curative effect. Results The average time for recovery of daily walking in the 22 patients was (12.4±5.5) d. Two patients with bilateral plantar fasciitis were lost to followup after surgery, and a total of 20 patients (22 feet) were followed up. Compared with pre-operation, the VAS score and CS of patients were signifcantly improved at 1 months after surgery (0.7[0.0-3.2] vs 5.3[3.8-7.0], Z=2.1, P<0.01; 87.0±11.3 vs 38.9±10.1, t=14.2, P<0.01). The physiological and psychological scores of SF-12 of patients were significantly increased at 6 months after operation versus pre-operation (50.9±10.7 vs 45.3±9.6, 47.2±9.2 vs 34.2±10.6; t=4.3 and 4.1, both P<0.01). Conclusion Arthroscopic heel spur removal with partial iliac fascia lysis can effectively relieve the symptoms of patients with plantar fasciitis, without serious complications.