Objective To investigate the job stress of nurses from basal hospitals and its relevant factors and provide scientific basis for work efficacy and nursing quality.Methods 640 clinical nurses were drawn randomly from second order general hospitals,special hospitals and township and countryside health center.The nurses were investigated by Chinese nursing stressor scale,Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90)scale and self-designed nurse general condition questionnaire.The scores of nurse job stress and the factors scores of SCL-90 were calculated to describe the status of job stress and mental health of nurses.The ordinal multiple classification logistic regression models were used to analyze the factors related to nurse job stress.Results The total average score of job stress of nurse was (2.83 ± 0.55),and it was middle levd job stress.The major job stress of nurse was concentrated on the following aspects:the patient nursing care (3.31 ± 0.75 ),workload and time schedule (3.20 ±0.63) and nursing profession and it's work (3.12 ±0.56).About the administration and interpersonal relations (2.08 ± 0.23),operational environment and instrumentation (2.48 ± 0.36 ),has minor relations with job stress of nurse.The average score of job stress of nurse for general hospital,special hospitals and health station were (3.19 ± 0.52),( 2.91 ± 0.47 ),(2.78 ± 0.43 ),respectively,there was statistical significance for the differences ( F =28.359,P ＜ 0.01 ),the nurses in the general hospital have higher job stress.The score of job stress of nurse for department of internal medicine,department of surgery,department of gynecology,department of pediatrics,department of ICU and other department were (3.02 ±0.66),(3.03 ±0.72),(2.94±0.71),(3.10±0.63),(3.17±0.69) and (2.81 ±0.74),respectively,there was statistical significance for the difference ( F =6.046,P ＜ 0.01 ),the nurses in ICU and department of pediatrics have higher job press.The factors score of SCL-90 for nurses indicated that saitivity of interpersonal relations (1.69 ±0.56) was not different from that (1.65 ±0.51) in the norm (t =1.591,P＞0.05) ; other factors such as somatization ( 1.72 ± 0.46),depression ( 1.75 ± 0.63 ),crankiness ( 1.58 ± 0.59 ) and the total score ( 149.2 ± 45.3) were higher than those in the norm ( 1.37 ± 0.48,1.50 ± 0.59,1.43 ± 0.57,149.2 ± 45.3,respectively) and the difference was significant ( t =15.461,8.679,5.447,9.836,respectively;P ＜ 0.01 ).The mental health of nurses has some relationship with job pressure.The factors related to the work pressure were:the type of organization,department,age,and educational history,professional titles,the status of marriage,economical condition of family,compulsive symptom,depression,anxiety,and so on (r=1.236,1.332,1.321,1.121,1.321,1.265,-1.346,1.412,1.614,1.351,respectively; P＜0.05).Conclusions The nurses of basal hospital have middle level job stress,and influence the mental health of nurse.Several aspect factors have relationships with job stress of nurse.