Objective To measure the nursing workload in ICU,and provide the basis for the scientific distribution of human resources and reasonable scheduling in ICU.Methods ICU patients of the First and Third People's Hospital of Zigong from July to September,2011 were selected.The TISS-28 and NAS were applied to measure the nursing workload in the ICU.The number of staff nurses on each day and on each shift was recorded.Results The total nursing workload and the per capita nursing workload for each day in a week showed no significant difference,and the per capita nursing workload of different shifts and the needs of nurse-patient ratio of different patients in ICU were significantly different.Conclusions The allocation of nursing staff should be balance for each day in a week and different shifts for each day.The configuration of the nursing human resources should be based on actual nursing workload,no only considering the species of the diseases,the disease condition,self-care ability and cooperation of the patients,but also the proficiency of nurse skills.