Objectives <p>This study aimed to assess the competency of clinical nurses in disaster nursing in Jiangsu Province, China.</p> Background <p>Clinical nurses represent the largest proportion of the healthcare workforce and often serve as the primary responders in disaster management. Their competencies in disaster nursing play a pivotal role in ensuring the quality and accuracy of disaster-related care. However, evidence regarding the disaster nursing competency of clinical nurses remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to assess the current status of clinical nurses’ disaster nursing competencies and analyze the factors influencing it to provide actionable strategies to enhance their disaster nursing competence.</p> Methods <p>This was a cross-sectional study, which used a convenience sampling method to recruit clinical nurses from 121 hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire and a nurse’s disaster nursing competencies evaluation tool. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple stepwise regression analysis were used to exploring factors influencing clinical nurses’ disaster nursing competencies.</p> Results <p>In total, 1073 participants completed the survey. The mean total disaster nursing competency score for clinical nurses was 221.41 ± 38.62 out of 275. Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that professional titles, adaptability of existing knowledge and skills to disaster scenarios, prior disaster nursing training, and participation in disaster rescue and emergency drills significantly influenced the disaster nursing competency of the clinical nurses (<i>F</i> = 50.626, <i>p</i>&lt;0.001, <i>R</i>^<i>2</i> = 15.6%).</p> Conclusions <p>Clinical nurses in China need more disaster nursing education, especially in the areas of prevention and preparedness. In addition, focusing on developing the practical skills of clinical nurses in disaster relief, developing a more systematic disaster education and training programme, and conducting regular disaster training and emergency drills for nurses at different levels should be considered as novel ways to improve the disaster nursing competency of clinical nurses in China.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>