Objective To explore the effectiveness of a teaching model practice based on Cooper′s experiential learning theory for neonatal nurse specialist training sites. Methods Eighteen trainees who received neonatal specialist nurse training from 2016 to 2018 were selected as the control group, and 19 trainees who received neonatal specialist nurse training from 2020 to 2023 were selected as the observation group. The control group was trained with conventional training mode, and the observation group was trained based on Cooper′s experiential learning theory. The core competence and the satisfaction of teaching methods were compared between the two groups. Results Except for the dimensions of education and counselling, the other 6 dimensions of core competence in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group (all P＜0.05). The satisfaction degree of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P＜0.05). Conclusion The training model based on Cooper′s experiential learning theory can improve the core competence of the specialized nurses.