Objective To investigate the projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China among nursing scholars and to explore the current research hotspots in the field of nursing, thus to advance innovation and progress in nursing discipline. Methods A comprehensive search of the National Social Science Fund of China project database was conducted to retrieve projects that the principal investigator was nursing scholars. This search was supplemented by searching the MedSci, Letpub, CNKI, VIP, WanFang, and Baidu. Project title, keywords, and other relevant information were extracted and analyzed using co-word cluster analysis. Results From 2014 to 2024, 80 projects that nursing scholar played as the principal investigator were supported by the National Social Science Fund of China, with a total funding of 16.3 million yuan. The co-word cluster analysis of keywords identified five research hotspots. Conclusion The number of projects that nursing scholar is the principle investigator funded by the National Social Science Fund of China has shown an increasing trend. Future nursing research should closely align with national policy directions and societal needs in order to better address future public health challenges and improve the quality and effectiveness of nursing services.