Objective To explore nurses′ experience and perception of implicit rationing of nursing care, and to provide reference for rational management of rationed nursing care. Methods Qualitative studies and mixed methods research designs involving qualitative studies on nurses′ experience and perception of implicit rationing of nursing care indexed in domestic and foreign databases were retrieved, and the search time frame was from January 2000 to June 2023.Meta-synthesis method was used to classify and integrate the results. Results A total of 21 publications were included.With 59 results extracted, 12 new categories were formed and integra-ted into 4 themes：implicit rationing of nursing care was common but hardly known; the factors leading to implicit rationing of nursing care were multifaceted; implicit rationing of nursing care had hidden dangers；mitigating implicit rationing of nursing care from multiple dimensions. Conclusion The phenomenon of implicit rationing of nursing care has negative impact on nursing care, and administrators should pay attention to the phenomenon and take targeted measures to mitigate implicit rationing of nursing care, in an effort to improve nurses′ work experience and quality of care.