Background The treatment of CT remains controversial. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the pain and functional outcomes of arthroscopic excision with or without rotator cuff repair for treating calcified tendinitis of the rotator cuff.Methods Between Jan 2015 and Apr 2018, a total of 38 patients with 39 shoulders CT of the rotator cuff underwent arthroscopic surgery and were followed for at least two years. The clinical outcomes were evaluated at intervals of 2, 4, and 8 weeks and 3, 6，12 and 24 months after the surgery and annually thereafter. The efficacy measures included the visual analogue scale (VAS) score, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score and radiographic outcomes.Results All patients underwent follow-ups, and the mean follow-up time was 45.38 months. The VAS score significantly decreased from 73.59±11.35 mm before the surgery to 26.41±10.63 mm at 6 months after surgery and continued to decrease to 5.64±5.02 mm at the end of the follow-up period (all p < 0.01). This result was supported by a significant increase in both the UCLA score and ASES score (all p<0.01) after surgery. Plain radiographs after surgery revealed complete calcification removal in all patients. No recurrence was observed during the follow-up period.Conclusions Arthroscopic excision can relieve pain and improve shoulder joint function in patients with CT. Additional randomized controlled studies need to be conducted to confirm our findings.