The utilization of rubber powder as a waste material can enhance the performance of asphalt, thereby prolonging the pavement's service life. In this article, the properties of matrix asphalt, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS) modified asphalt, rubber modified asphalt and SBS/ rubber composite modified asphalt under ultraviolet aging were studied. Various characterization methods were employed to evaluate surface free energy and rheological properties. The UV aging mechanism were explored through changes in functional groups. The experimental results reveal that asphalt with the addition of rubber powder shows better resistance to ultraviolet aging. UV radiation significantly influenced the adhesion properties of aged asphalt by increasing its polar component of surface free energy while decreasing its dispersion component. Notably, 2 to 4 days of UV aging improve adhesion properties with a remarkable 164.6% increase in surface free energy for rubber powder-modified asphalt. The complex modulus of modified asphalt is also enhanced by the short-term UV aging. However, long-term exposure to UV radiation results in reduced non-recoverable creep compliance compared to control samples. Furthermore, carbonyl groups in both rubber powder-modified and SBS-modified asphalt exhibit minimal changes due to UV aging effects. For matrix asphalt and SBS modified asphalt, the rubber powder shows the ability to improve adhesion and delay ultraviolet aging. The findings provide valuable theoretical insights into utilizing rubber powder for enhancing the ultraviolet aging resistance of asphalt.