This retrospective study assessed the efficacy and safety of 1% topical clotrimazole cream for the treatment of patients with tinea cruris (TC).We included 86 patients with confirmed TC for the presence of fungal hyphae. Of those, 43 patients received 1% topical clotrimazole cream for a total of 4 consecutive weeks, and were assigned to an experimental group. The other 43 patients underwent 1% topical butenafine cream for a total of 2 consecutive weeks, and were allocated to a control group. The efficacy and safety were measured and analyzed after 4 weeks treatment.After treatment, patients in both groups achieved better improvements in erythema (P < .01), scaling (P < .01), itching (P < .01), and KOH-negative results (P < .01), compared with those in patients before the treatment. However, there were not significant differences in erythema (P = .61), scaling (P = .57), itching (P = .47), and KOH-negative results (P = .67) between 2 groups. In addition, no treatment-related adverse events were recorded in both groups.Both 1% topical clotrimazole and butenafine cream are found to be effective and safe for patients with TC. However, there is not significant difference in efficacy and safety between two groups.