Objective To construct a symptom network of gastrointestinal symptoms of nursing undergraduates with irritable bowel syndrome （IBS）, to identify the core symptoms within this network, and to investigate interactions with anxiety and depression, aiming to provide a reference for identifying intervention targets for IBS.Methods A total of 232 nursing undergraduates with IBS were surveyed using the Gastrointestinal Symptoms Severity Questionnaire, Self-rating Anxiety Scale （SAS）, and Self-rating Depression Scale （SDS）.Network structure was developed using R4.2.3 software.Results Network analysis revealed that heartburn had the highest strength centrality （Str=2.500）, betweenness centrality （Bet=2.017） and closeness centrality （Clo=2.379） in the IBS gastrointestinal symptoms network, followed by alternating diarrhea and constipation, with the Str of 1.491 and Bet of 1.712.Anxiety （r=0.019 to 0.109） and depression （r=0.017 to 0.025） were positively correlated with certain gastrointestinal symptoms.Conclusion Heartburn is the central gastrointestinal symptom of nursing undergraduates with IBS, and alternating diarrhea and constipation is a meaningful defecation-related symptom.Anxiety and depression are closely related with gastrointestinal symptoms.Healthcare professionals can develop precise symptom management strategies to ameliorate these core symptoms, resulting in enhancing the effectiveness of symptom management.