Objective To analyze and explore positive emotional experiences of patients, in order to provide reference for improving the medical services. Methods Using NVivo software, praise letters from a tertiary hospital in Guangdong in 2020 and 2021 were used as the research object for three-level coding. The positive emotional experiences of patients were explored through tools such as analytic hierarchy process and node item map. Results A total of 8601 patient praise letters were received, and after screening, a total of 8128 valid texts were obtained. In 2020, there were 2570 patient praise letters, including 69 from the emergency department, 638 from the outpatient department, and 1863 from the inpatient department. In 2021, there were 5558 patient praise letters, including 203 from the emergency department, 2071 from the outpatient department, and 3284 from the inpatient department. The most praise letters were from the inpatient department, with a total of 5147 letters (63.3%). There were 2709 letters (33.3%) from outpatient department, and 272 letters (3.3%) from emergency department. The classification of patient praise letters showed that patient praise for the process and individuals were most common (77.4%). After step-by-step encoding, the valid text formed 36 third level nodes, 8 second level nodes, and 3 first level nodes. Patient praise letters mainly focused on emotional evaluation at the first level node, followed by emotional expression and emotional response. Word frequency analysis showed that in terms of positive emotional experiences, the word “thank you” had the highest frequency among patients. In terms of patient perception of service, the term “patience” had the highest frequency. Conclusions When patients express praise for medical services, they pay more attention to the personal performance of medical staff and the experience of the service process compared to the final result. In the process of hospital management, the emotions of patients should be fully considered.