Abstract: Objective  To investigate the intentions and influencing factors to work in primary hospitals among undergraduate nursing students. Methods  Totally 1005 undergraduate nursing students were investigated with a self-designed questionnaire. Results  Only 3.8% undergraduate nursing students were willing to work in primary hospitals very much； more than 40% students were willing to work in primary hospitals if there were priority policy support. Among those who were willing to work in primary hospitals，88.0% preferred to county hospitals or community health centers，and only 8.6% tended to work in rural health centers or village health clinics. The students whose first choice was nursing，or liked nursing specialty or had practical experience in primary hospitals or knew more about the nursing work in primary hospitals were more likely to work in primary hospitals（P<0.05）. The most common reason willing to work in primary hospitals was near to family（64.2%），while low income and welfare was the most common reason not willing to work in primary hospitals（77.8%）. Conclusion  The intention to work in primary hospitals is low in undergraduate nursing students. It is suggested to modify college admission policy and employment policy and help students to obtain more information about primary hospitals to improve the employment rate in primary hospitals.

Key words: Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate； Employment； Questionnaires； Primary hospital