Objective To explore the effect of nursing students working as volunteers on health promotion of the empty-nest elderly in rural areas. Methods From March to May 2021, two villages in Chang′an District, Xi′an, Shaanxi Province were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group by drawing lots. There were 35 elderly patients in each group who met the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. The intervention group received 10 sessions of one-on-one, in-home health promotion intervention (contents include health education on chronic diseases prevention and care, nutrition support, exercise, mental care, etc.) led by nursing student volunteers, while the control group received no intervention at all. The Health Promoting Lifestyle Scale (HPLP-Ⅱ), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30), and UCLA Loneliness Scale were used to measure the two groups before intervention, 5 weeks, and 10 weeks into the intervention. Results Five weeks into the intervention, there were significant differences in HPLP-Ⅱ totals, and scores of health responsibility, nutrition-related behaviors and self-actualization between the two groups (P<0.05 for all); 10 weeks into the intervention, there were significant differences in HPLP-Ⅱ totals, and scores of health responsibility, nutrition-related behaviors, exercise, stress coping, self-actualization, depression and loneliness between the two groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion The practice of nursing student volunteers going into households to implement one-on-one health promotion intervention for the empty-nest elderly in rural area, is helpful to improve elders′ health literacy and health behavior, reduce their negative mentality, and thus promote the physical and mental health of the elderly.