Objective To explore the impact of humanistic care on postoperative recovery and anxiety of patients undergoing day surgery, and to provide reference for nurses providing more professional humanistic caring in day surgery ward. Methods A total of 110 patients with inguinal hernia undergoing day surgery were randomized into a control group and an intervention group of 55, recei-ving either routine care or humanistic care respectively. Preoperative anxiety, first postoperative oral intake, start of out-of-bed mobilization, and satisfaction with nursing care were compared between the two groups. Results The intervention group showed milder preoperative anxiety, earlier postoperative oral intake and start of out-of-bed mobilization, and higher satisfaction with nur-sing care compared to the control group （P＜0.01 for all）. Conclusion Implementation of humanistic care for day surgery patients can relieve their anxiety, boost postoperative recovery and enhance their satisfaction.