Objective To understand the current situation and influencing factors of undergraduate nursing students′ ethical sensitivity, and to provide a reference for the cultivation of their ethical sensitivity.Methods A total of 572 nursing students from two undergraduate universities in Henan province were selected by convenience sampling method.The Chinese version of the Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire for Nursing Students （ESQ-NS） and the Nursing Students′ Professional Identity Scale were used to conduct a cross-sectional survey.Results The average score of ethical sensitivity of nursing students was （40.86±5.15）, and the average dimension score of protecting patient privacy, maintaining patient safety and respect for the individual was （19.38±3.14）, （14.26±1.84） and （7.22±2.36）, respectively;and the scores of ethical sensitivity and its dimensions were positively correlated with the scores of professional identity （P＜0.05）.The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that academic year, family re-sidence, whether to take ethics-related courses, whether being on clinical internship program and professional identity were the main influencing factors of nursing students′ ethical sensitivity （all P＜0.05）. Conclusion Ethical sensitivity of nursing students in China is at a relatively high level; ethical theory knowledge, education of practical skills and the cultivation of correct professional values are more conducive to improving the ethical sensitivity of nursing students.