Objective To investigate the effect of symptom management education on the level of nutrition impact symptoms and nutritional status in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Methods One hundred and twenty-eight head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy were divided into a control group and an intervention group according to different wards, with 64 in each group.Patients in the control group were given routine radiotherapy nursing, while the intervention group additio-nally received symptom management education.Nutrition impact symptoms were assessed at week 1, week 4, and week 7 after initiation of radiotherapy and at 1 month post-radiotherapy through the Head and Neck Patient Symptom Checklist (HNSC).Body weight, serum albumin and hemoglobin were also measured at these time points. Results The total HNSC score and the severity of pain, nausea and depression were lower, whereas body weight, serum albumin and hemoglobin were higher in the intervention group than those in the control group, showing significant main group effect （all P＜0.05）. Conclusion Continuous and stage specific symptom management education can improve symptom management ability of head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, effectively alleviate the extent of nutrition impact symptoms and improve the nutritional status.