Abstract: Objective:To investigate the practice situation of living nursing and cognitive attitudes of nurses, patients and their families for seeking direction in promoting of living nursing practice.Methods:The cognition of living nursing in two tertiary hospitals in Anhui province were investigated using self-making living nursing cognition questionnaire.Results:The acceptabilities of living nursing in nurses, patients and their families were less than 15%.The emotional and psychological factors in 70% respondents were the causes of rejecting the living nursing of nurse.Nurses thought that nursing assisted projects were less than the requirements of patients and their families(P<0.01).The 70% of nurses thought that the living nursing should be borne by the care worker, 60% of patients families thought that the living nursing should be borne by themselves and the patients thought that living nursing should be borne by patients families(35%) and care worker(35%), the difference was statistically significant(P<0.01).Conclusions:There are similarities and differences in the cognitions of living nursing in nurses, patients and their families, the implementing living nursing must be considered.