Objective To investigate the level and determinants of preparedness for infectious disease outbreak among general hospital nurses and to provide reference for formulating targeted intervention measures. Methods A self-designed questionnaire regarding preparedness for infectious disease outbreak among general hospital nurses was used to investigate 3 839 clinical nurses of 143 secondary and tertiary general hospitals in 16 provinces and municipalities. Results The average score of preparedness for infectious disease outbreak among nurses was 3.80±0.51. Different levels of hospitals, gender, professional titles, being emergency nursing team member, participation in emergency rescue during infectious disease outbreak, acceptance of related training and simulated training were the main factors affecting their preparedness (P<0.05，P<0.01). Conclusion Preparedness for infectious disease outbreak among Chinese nurses working in general hospitals was at medium level. Training should be strengthened for those who work in low-level hospitals, who have low professional titles and who do not have the experience of care in infectious disease outbreak, thus to enhance nurses′ preparedness for infectious disease outbreak.