Objective To investigate the formation of cerebral collateral circulation and its influence on short-term neurological deficits in patients with progressive cerebral infarction in the basal ganglia. Methods A total of 200 patients with progressive cerebral infarction in the basal ganglia who were admitted to our hospital were enrolled as subjects. After admission, head computed tomography angiography was performed to evaluate the establishment of collateral circulation, and according to the presence or absence of collateral circulation, the subjects were divided into collateral circulation establishment group and non-collateral circulation establishment group. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to evaluate neurological deficits on admission, during the progression of stroke, and after collateral circulation establishment, and neurological deficits were compared between patients with different collateral circulation grades and different types of collateral circulation opening. Results Of all 200 subjects, 146 had successful establishment of collateral circulation and 54 had no establishment. There was no significant difference in NIHSS score between the collateral circulation establishment group and the non-collateral circulation establishment group on admission and during the progression of stroke (P>0.05), while after 2 weeks of treatment, the collateral circulation establishment group had a significantly lower NIHSS score than the non-collateral circulation establishment group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in NIHSS score between the patients with grade 3-4 collateral circulation and those with grade 1-2 collateral circulation on admission and during the progression of stroke (P>0.05), and after 2 weeks of treatment, the patients with grade 3-4 collateral circulation had a significantly lower NIHSS score than those with grade 1-2 collateral circulation (P<0.05). The patients with anterior circulation infarction had a significantly higher number of established collateral circulations than those with posterior circulation infarction (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in NIHSS score between the patients with anterior circulation infarction and those with posterior circulation infarction on admission and during the progression of stroke (P>0.05), and after 2 weeks of treatment, the patients with anterior circulation infarction had a significantly lower NIHSS score than those with posterior circulation infarction (P<0.05). Conclusions Formation of cerebral collateral circulation can improve short-term neurological deficits in patients with progressive cerebral infarction in the basal ganglia.