Objective To understand the current situation of nursing personnel demands and position setting,so as to provide a basis for development of the Teaching Standards for Nursing Major in Higher Vocational Colleges. Methods A total of 101 medical institutions in China were selected according to their regional distribution. Questionnaires of Teaching Standards for Nursing Major in Higher Vocational Colleges and the clinical demands of the core competence of nursing talents in higher vocational colleges were used for the survey. Results The average bed-nurse ratio of the investigated medical institutions was 1 : 0.59. The proportion of nursing staff with nursing associated degree accounted for 40.43%. The top two demands for nursing degree were associate and baccalaureate degree. The hospitals set up 81.47% of clinical nursing posts for higher vocational nursing students,and their satisfaction level with the theoretical knowledge,professional accomplishment and nursing operation skills for higher vocational nursing professionals was 27.7%,35.6% and 38.6% respectively. The first three requirements for the core competence of nursing are clinical practice competence,physical and mental adaptability and teamwork ability. The average score rates were 92.93%,92.62% and 90.08% respectively. Conclusion There is still a great demand for nursing staff in China. In clinical setting,higher vocational nursing staff are still the main force of hospital nursing team. Clinical nursing ability,physical and mental adaptability and team cooperation ability are the main requirements of clinical post core competence. The theoretical knowledge,professional quality and nursing operation skills of higher vocational nursing staff need to be improved.