Objective To develop a performance appraisal model and indicators for clinical nurses, and to provide references for performance management of clinical nurses. Methods According to the theory of Existence-Relatedness-Growth(ERG), preliminary job performance evaluation indicators based on the professional needs of clinical nurses were determined through literature analysis and research group discussions, and the Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of consultations with 19 nursing experts. Then analytic hierarchy process was adopted to confirm the weight of each indicator. Results The finalized nursing performance appraisal model had 4 first-level indicators (basement, enhancement, suitability, transcendency), 13 second-level indicators and 27 third-level indicators. The authority coefficient, judgment coefficient and familiarity coefficient of the experts in the second round were 0.926, 0.853 and 0.926 respectively.Besides, the Kendall coefficients of the second round were 0.103-0.185 （P＜0.05 for all） and the coefficients of variation （CV） ranges from 0.000-0.173. Conclusion The BEST nursing performance appraisal model and indicators system is scientific and reliable.It provides a scientific basis for performance appraisal of clinical nurses, which may promote the professional development of clinical nurses.