Objective To examine how work stress influences somatization and work burnout, especially concerning for the difference between work load and interpersonal relationship stress in the correlation with work burnout. Methods Using cross-sectional design and questionnaire survey method, participants were 455 female nurses recruited from nine hospitals in Nanjing, China. Results The results revealed that work load and interpersonal relationship stress positively predicted somatization (βwork load=0.33,βinterpersonal relationship stres =0.22, P<0.01), emotional exhaustion (βwork load=0.57,βinterpersonal relationship stres =0.22, P<0.01) and cynicism (βwork load=0.49,βinterpersonal relationship stres =0.29, P<0.01), and negatively predicted personal accomplishment (βwork load=-0.18,βinterpersonal relationship stres =-0.21, P<0.01). Specially, the influence of work load on emotional exhaustion and cynicism was significantly higher than that of interpersonal relationship stress (Z=6.37, 3.57, P < 0.05), but there were no differences between them in personal accomplishment and somatization (Z=1.79, 0.47, P > 0.05). Conclusions There are significant differences between work load and interpersonal relationship stress in the correlation with work burnout.