Objective To develop and test a scale to measure nurse-patient communication for older adults, and to provide reference for targeted intervention. Methods A draft was designed based on literature review, semi-structured interview, and referring to a textbook of Skills for Communication with the Elderly.The new questionnaire was then completed by 485 elderly patients to test the reliability and validity. Results The formal scale was formed with 28 items and 3 dimensions. The Cronbach′s α coefficient was 0.982 for the total scale and 0.932, 0.953, 0.972 for 3 dimensions.The test-retest reliability was 0.927.Exploratory factor analysis extracted 3 factors that accounted for 61.323% of the variance.Confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable model fit for the hypothesized three-factor structure, with the root mean square error approximation （RMSEA） of 0.062 and the comparative fitting index （CFI） of 0.948. Conclusion The new measure of nurse-patient communication for the elderly is valid and reliable for clinical practice.