Objective To explore the network between attitudes toward older people and career choice motivation among undergraduate nursing students, to identify the key nodes, so as to provide reference for taking more precise and effective interventions. Methods A total of 806 undergraduate nursing students were surveyed using the Chinese version of the Kogan′s Attitude toward Older People Scale and the Nursing Students′ Motivation to Choose a Career in Elderly Nursing Questionnaire. The network structure, node centrality, and robustness of the results were assessed with R4.3.0. Results The sample scored （149.97±16.22）for attitude toward older people and （68.80±10.50） for motivation to choose a career in elderly nursing. Network analysis showed that the strongest relationship between negative attitude and cost (r=0.431) was identified, followed by positive attitude and interest (r=0.214); importance presented the highest degreece ntrality (Str=1.268), and interest had the greatest betweenness centrality (Bet=1.998) and closeness centrality (Clo=1.696). Conclusion Undergraduate nursing students report relatively positive attitudes toward older people and moderate motivation to choose a career in elderly care. Strong correlations between negative attitude and cost, positive attitude and interest are found. Importance and interest are the core nodes in this network. Nursing educators should focus on importance of and interest in geriatric care to enhance attitudes and motivation of undergraduate nursing students toward geriatric care.