Objective To probe into the relationship between social support, coping styles and resiliency of nurses in surgery department. Methods A total of 192 surgical nurses were selected from a general tertiary hospital in Fuzhou on random cluster sampling basis. The following measures were used to collect data:the Chinese version of Mental Resilience Scale, the Simple Coping Style Questionnaire and the Social Support Rating Scale. Results The resilience score of surgical nurses was (58.41 ± 12.86) points. Also, resilience had positive and significant correlation with positive coping styles, social support, objective support , subjective support and support utilization degree (more specifically r = 0.629, P <0.01 and r = 0.334, P < 0.01, r = 0.242, P < 0.01 and r = 0.312, P < 0.01 and r = 0.156, P < 0.05). Conclusions The overall level of resiliency in surgical nurses was undesirable, however effective problem-based coping skills and adequate social support may help the group improve resilience and to qualify for better nursing services.