Objective To understand the experience of participating in evidence-based nursing literature reading activity among clinical nurses, so as to provide a reference for optimizing and spreading evidence-based nursing literature reading activities. Methods A phenomenological approach was utilized, and semi-structured interviews were conducted on 16 nurses who participated in evidence-based nursing literature reading activity, then the content analysis method was used to analyze the interview data. Results Two themes were extracted, namely participation facilitators and barriers to participation.The former included 4 sub-themes: broadening horizons, promoting reflection, realistic needs and online formats; and the later consisted of 4 sub-themes:internal factors, external factors, activity schemes and implementation processes. Conclusion Evidence-based nursing literature reading activity provides a learning pathway for clinical nurses to learn evidence-based nursing related knowledge, and broaden their evidence-based practice related knowledge.Nursing managers should continuously optimise the activity programme according to the factors influencing clinical nurses′ participation, create a favorable activity atmosphere, and continuously conduct evidence-based nursing literature reading activities.