Objective To develop a self-rating scale for discomfort symptomsin convalescent patients after surgery for aortic dissection, and to provide reference for assessing discomfort symptoms and taking effective symptom management measures. Methods Based on the Conceptual Model of Symptom Management, the Cardiac Symptom Survey, the results of telephone follow-ups of patients receiving surgery for aortic dissection, and the Heart Surgery Symptom Inventory, we formulated the preliminary item pool, then conducted two-round of expert consultation.Finally, 217 patients who suffered from discomfort symptoms during convalescent period filled out the questionnaire to test the reliability and validity. Results The self-rating scale included 22 items.Seven factors were identified by exploratory factor analysis, accounting for 70.343% of the total variance.The item-level content validity index was between 0.833 and 1.000, and the scale-level content validity index was 0.918.The overall Cronbach′s α coefficient was 0.874 and the Spearman-Brown split-half reliability coefficient was 0.785. Conclusion The self-rating scaleis reliable and valid forassessing discomfort symptoms inconvalescent patients after surgery for aortic dissection.