Objective To construct a crisis management competency evaluation index system for postanesthesia care unit nurses and apply it preliminarily, so as to provide a reference to evaluate and train crisis management competency for this population.Methods Based on literature review, theoretical analysis and qualitative research, a two-round Delphi study was conducted among 17 experts from June to July, 2024, then the crisis management competency evaluation index system for postanesthesia care unit nurses was established and the index weights at all levels were calculated.From August to October 2024, the index system was used to investigate 300 nurses in postanesthesia care unit from 13 provinces, to preliminarily explore the current state of crisis management competency of nurses in postanesthesia care unit.Results The response rates in the two rounds of expert consultation were 94.7% and 94.4%, the Kendall′s concordance coefficients were 0.197-0.301 and 0.248-0.426 （all P＜0.05）, and the expert authority coefficients were 0.947 and 0.933, respectively.The final crisis management competency evaluation index system for nurses in postanesthesia care unit consisted of 4 primary indicators, 15 secondary indicators, and 56 tertiary indicators.The survey results showed that, the participants′ average score of crisis management ability was （3.86±0.81） points, which was at a medium and above level.Conclusion The crisis management competency evaluation index system for postanesthesia care unit nurses is scientific, reliable and applicable,which can be used as a tool to evaluate crisis management competency for postanesthesia care unit nurses.