Objective To explore the characteristics of financial management competencies of nurse managers, and to provide refe-rence for the training and selection of nurse managers.Methods A total of 25 nurse managers and 9 stakeholders were selected by purposive sampling, and semi-structured interviews were conducted based on the Iceberg Competency Model.Data were analyzed by content analysis.Results Five themes and 24 subthemes were identified, including basic knowledge, operational skills, comprehensive capacity, professionalism and personal characteristics.Conclusion Nurse managers need to possess not only the explicit competency characteristics such as knowledge and skills, but also the inner characteristics such as capacity and literacy, to conduct financial management.Systematic and standardized training can be carried out based on the characteristics of financial management competencies of the nurse managers, to cultivate high-quality nursing managers.