This study investigated the clinical efficacy of gangliosides on premature infants suffering from white matter damage and its effect on the levels of IL-6, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100β. Seventy-six cases of premature infants suffering from white matter damage admitted to the Tianjin Central Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology from February 2016 to March 2017 were enrolled in this study. They were randomly divided into the control group and the observation group with 38 cases in each group. Control group was given conventional treatment, while the observation group was given ganglioside treatment on the basis of the treatment given to the control group. Craniocerebrum ultrasonic detection was used to observe the condition of white matter around the ventricle of child patients in the two groups, before and after treatment. ELISA was used to detect the levels of IL-6, NSE and S100β. Gesell developmental scale was used to compare the developmental quotient (DQ) of various function regions of the children. The total effective rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The gray value of craniocerebrum ultrasonic detection in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). IL-6, S100β and NSE levels of the child patients in the two groups were significantly declined at 7 and 14 days after birth (P<0.05). After 1 year, the observation group scored significantly higher DQ than the control group in the aspects of social adaptation, gross motor, fine motor, language and personal social contact. The sequel incidence of patients in the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the intervention treatment with ganglioside for premature infants suffering from white matter damage was beneficial and provided a protective effect. It also reduced sequel and produced some promising results.