Objective To compare correlation and consistency between cancer patients′ self-reported pain intensity descriptors and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score, and to provide a reference for accurate clinical pain assessment. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted, and a self-made quantitative questionnaire corresponding to pain intensity descriptors was used to investigate 1,120 cancer patients.Using the NRS as the reference standard,compared the sensitivity of patients′ self-reported pain intensity descriptions with the NRS in pain assessment. Results A total of 24 self-reported pain intensity descriptors were collected.There was a significant positive correlation between patient pain description score and NRS score (r=0.937, P<0.05). Bland-Altman analysis showed that there was a high consistency between patient pain description score and the NRS score (mean deviation was 0.2, 95%CI -2.06~2.47). Conclusion The patients′ self-reported pain intensity descriptions can accurately reflect the pain intensity of the patient. By matching the description with the NRS score and combining the subjective description with objective quantification, it can provide a more intuitive way for the medical staff to understand and evaluate the pain degree of the patient, and improve the accuracy of pain assessment.