Objective To investigate the status of self-compassion in parents of children with cancer, and to analyze its correlation with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), post-traumatic growth and depression. Methods Parents of 227 children with cancer treated in 3 hospitals in Guangzhou were selected by convenience sampling method. The general demographic information form, Chinese version of Self-compassion Scale, Chinese version of PTSD Checklist Civilian Version, Chinese version of Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and the Depression Scale were used for the survey. Results The median (interquartile range) score of self-compassion among parents of children with cancer was 18.75（17.80,20.50）.Self-compassion was moderately negatively correlated with PTSD symptoms and depression, while positively correlated with post-traumatic growth (P＜0.01 for all). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that PTSD, post-traumatic growth and depression were influencing factors of self-compassion (P＜0.05,P＜0.01), with the 3 variables accounting for 38.3% of the total variance. Conclusion Self-compassion in parents of children with cancer remains further improvement. Medical staff should actively conduct targeted interventions to enhance parents′ self-compassion level, thus to mitigate their negative emotions, promote post-traumatic growth, and improve the quality of life of the children and parents.