Understanding the relationship between heroin use disorder (HUD) and behavioral inhibition is essential for mitigating its detrimental effects and developing targeted interventions. This study conducted two experiments to examine the impact of HUD on both reactive and intentional inhibition, which respectively enable individuals to exert control over impulsive actions in response to external stimuli or internal decisions. Experiment 1 investigates this issue at the behavioral level by having abstinent individuals with HUD and healthy controls (HC) complete the Free Two-Choice Oddball Task. The results revealed that the HUD group exhibited impaired intentional inhibition compared to the HC group, as evidenced by a significantly larger response time cost for free-choice trials. Experiment 2 further corroborated these findings in a new sample while simultaneously examining underlying temporal dynamics. The results showed that the HUD group demonstrated impaired intentional inhibition, as indicated by a lower inhibition rate during free-choice trials; this impairment was specifically manifested as a weakened ability to evaluate inhibitory control performance, evidenced by the absence of a significant late slow wave (LSW) component. Additionally, the HUD group displayed enhanced reactive inhibition, as shown by a smaller accuracy cost between standard and deviant trials; this enhancement was specifically attributed to an improved capacity to implement inhibitory control, as reflected by a reduced P3 difference. Collectively, these findings suggest that individuals with HUD exhibit distinct patterns of reactive and intentional inhibition abilities, thereby contributing to existing research on addiction, refining current theories, and offering novel insights for interventions in drug rehabilitation practice.