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Abstract An open jet wind tunnel has low-frequency pressure pulsation in common wind speed range due to its unique structural form, which seriously damages the quality of flow field in the test section. The low-frequency pressure fluctuation performance and control mechanism of Jilin University open jet and return flow wind tunnel are investigated by experiments and numerical simulation. The results show that the low-frequency pressure fluctuation is a narrow pulse phenomenon that only occurs in certain intervals, and several velocity intervals may be found in the same wind tunnel. The reliability of the numerical simulation is verified by comparing the peak frequency and amplitude of pressure fluctuation in numerical simulation and wind tunnel tests. A simplified model similar to and amplifying the phenomenon is established. The flow structure and vortex evolution are analyzed via detached eddy simulation. In the test section, large-scale shedding vortices are formed at the nozzle exit, introducing periodic pulsating instantaneous velocity and acting with the collector to form an edge-feedback. This acoustic feedback forms resonance with the pipeline circuit, resulting in poor flow field quality. In accordance with the mechanism of nozzle jet, two methods of controlling pulsation are proposed: spoiler and flow-follow device. The study shows that the effects of two methods are abrupt, and the frequency of pressure pulsation is changed. The spoiler destroys the complete structure of vortex ring in free jet and develops into a complementary double vortex ring structure, which is highly sensitive to size factors. The flow-follow device supplements the velocity loss of the free jet at the nozzle and develops into a double vortex ring with master–slave structure in the middle of the test section. Its vibration reduction effect is greatly affected by the flow velocity. It takes effect in an appropriate range where the flow velocity is higher than the nozzle velocity. If the follow velocity is extremely low, the flow-follow device cannot change the original jet structure. If the follow velocity is extremely high, the momentum of the fan will be greatly reduced, the flow field will be unstable, and another order of pulsation may be induced. This work lays a solid foundation for further understanding the aerodynamic characteristics and optimization mechanism of open jet wind tunnel.