Objective To explore the impact of clinical nurses′ perceptions of core competencies and cognitive processes on the deve-lopment of core competencies, in order to provide a reference for promoting clinical nurses′ initiative to promote the self-development of core competencies. Methods Based on the idealized cognitive model and the research purpose, the outline formulated through literature search and expert group discussion. The study adopted descriptive research. And 20 clinical nurses from first-class hospitals in 11 provinces and cities were selected according to the sampling method of the purpose to conduct semi-structured interviews. Finally, summarized and refined the themes by content analysis.Results Four themes were distilled:general recognition of core competency (concept understanding, feature analysis, content recognition, and post competency identification), recognizing the importance of core competenciess (fostering personal growth, improving nursing quality, enhancing team cohesiveness, and good for industry development), recognition of affecting factors of core competency (learning experience, practice experience, personal objectives, opportunities, and societal changes), recognition of developing of core competency (learning awareness of self-directed, habit of self-reflection, emphasis on building expertise, and internal motivation for self breakthrough). Conclusion Clinical nurses exhibit a somewhat one-sided and limited understanding of core competency, which hinders their proactive development. Further research is essential to identify effective strategies for clinical nurses to actively enhance their core competency.