Objective To construct a nursing quality evaluation index system for surgical position placement in the operating room, to improve the management quality of intraoperative position placement for surgical patients and provide a reference for promoting patient surgical safety. Methods Based on the "Structure-Process-Outcome" three-dimensional quality model, the primary item pool of the nursing quality evaluation index system for surgical position placement was established through literature review, semi-structured interviews and group discussions. After two rounds of expert consultation for screening and revising the items, the weights of each index were determined by the analytic hierarchy process. Results The recovery rates of the two rounds of expert consultation questionnaires were both 100%; the expert authority coefficients were 0.886 and 0.902 respectively, and the Kendall′s coefficient of concordance for the importance of the indicators were 0.154 and 0.161 respectively (both P<0.05). The constructed nursing quality evaluation index system for surgical position placement included 3 first-level indicators, 8 second-level indicators and 30 third-level indicators. Conclusion The constructed nursing quality evaluation index system for surgical position placement is scientific, practical and highly operable. It can be used for the quality evaluation of position placement of surgical patients and provide a basis for reducing the risk of surgical position placement for patients.