Objective To explore the relationship between communication ability and conflict management styles among clinical nurses, so as to provide a reference for improving their ability of clinical communication and conflict management. Methods A total of 366 clinical nurses were investigated by using a general information questionnaire, the nurse clinical communication ability scale and the interpersonal conflict management style scale. Results The clinical communication ability score of nurses was 4.49±0.52 points; in the interpersonal conflict management style scale, the integrating subscale scored the highest, with 4.24±0.60 points, and the most participants (190 nurses) preferred to use the conflict management style, and the dominating dimension scored the lowest, with 3.30±0.90 points, and the least counterparts (9 nurses) tended to select this style.There were positive correlations between the nurses′ clinical communication ability and conflict management styles (all P＜0.05). Conclusion The communication ability among clinical nurses is at a high level, and they are prone to use the integrating conflict management style.Nursing administrators should pay attention to improving nurses′ communication ability and conflict management ability, and promoting their conflict management ability via training their communication ability.