Objective To construct a smart management platform in the nursing laboratory and to examine the application effects of the platform. Methods The nursing laboratory smart management platform was constructed,including four modules：reservation,training,teaching and evaluation. The platform was opened to undergraduates of grade 2018 in a university. The duration of training,times of training,skills performance and self-directed learning ability of 332 students in grade 2018（experimental group） who used the smart management platform were compared with those of 363 students in grade 2017（control group） who used the traditional nursing laboratory management system. Results For students in the experimental group, the average training duration were 116.99±15.41 hours, the average training times were 233.98±27.74, the mean skill performance score was 87.29±4.14,and the self-directed learning ability score was 234.87±19.38. All these above mentioned scores were significantly higher than those of students in the control group（32.08±9.85,64.17±11.95,81.16±5.70,and 219.89±14.35,respectively;all P<0.001). Conclusion The smart management platform for the nursing laboratory can improve students’ performance in skills assessment and promote students’ self-directed learning ability.