Objective To describe the turnover status of nurses in China in 2017 and provide decision-making evidence for the health administrators. Methods We extracted the hospitals basic information,nursing human resource data and turnover data from the National Database of Nursing Quality reported by 940 hospitals from 30 provinces of China,and performed statistical analysis. Results The nursing turnover rate was 2.15% in 2017. The turnover rates in the second and third quarter were relatively higher than other quarters. The turnover rate declined from the east area,west area,to the middle area,which were 2.35%,2.02% and 1.92% respectively. In different provinces,turnover rates ranged from 0.75% to 4.60% and the higher turnover rates were mainly distributed in the eastern China,where economy levels were relatively high. The majority of nurses who quitted their jobs had the junior title,worked less than 5 years and held associate degree. There were differences in turnover rate among hospitals with different characteristics,different quarters,different educational background,job titles,and working years（P<0.001）. The turnover rate was significantly correlated with the degree of the hospital,nature,comprehensive hospital,region,nurse-bed ratio,nurse-patient ratio and the average care time in 24 hours for one hospitalized patient and the proportion of nurses with associate degree or lower degree（P<0.001）. Conclusion Currently,the nurse human resource in China is relatively stable. But 3.09% of the investigated hospitals and private hospitals had a turnover rate higher than 10% which should come into notice. Educational levels of nursing workforce and the nursing sensitive quality indicators concerning manpower disposition should be paid close attention to decline the turnover rate.