Objective To explore the effect of nursing intervention on reducing adverse reaction of opiates among late-stage cancer with pain.Methods Late-stage cancer patients were randomly divided into intervention group and control group,and the control group received the routine nursing,while the intervention group received the nursing intervention in the aspects of cognition,psychology,health behavior,diet and drug use on the base of routine nursing.Results After the intervention,significant difference was found in the incidence of nausea and vomit,urinary retention,and constipation between the two groups (x2 =3.948,4.241,7.394,respectively ;P ＜ 0.05),while the incidence of sleepiness,dizziness and respiratory depression in the two groups was not significant different (P ＞ 0.05).The global quality of life score of the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the control group [(62.01 ± 4.27) vs (54.83 ± 5.01) ; t =7.014 5,P ＜0.01],so as to the dimension scores (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Nursing intervention in late-stage cancer can significantly reduce the incidence of adverse reaction of opiates such as nausea and vomit,urinary retention,and constipation so as to improve their life quality.