Objective To discuss the current status and correlation of occupational identity and caring ability among community palliative care nurses, and to provide reference for strengthening professional training of palliative care nurses. Methods Totally 622 palliative care nurses from 100 community health care centers in Shanghai were selected, then they were investigated using the general information questionnaire, care ability scale and occupational approval level scale. Results The total score of care ability was 173.80±19.66, and the total score of occupational identity was 110.32±17.15. The total score and each dimension score of the nurses′ care ability positively correlated with those of occupational identity (P＜0.01 for all). Conclusion The caring ability of community palliative care nurses is relatively low.It is necessary to strengthen targeted professional training to help them correctly recognize and carry out the palliative care work, so as to improve their sense of professional value and professional identity.