Objective? To explore the effects of motivational interviewing rehabilitation transitional care based on action research on rehabilitation and functional recovery among stroke patients. Methods? From January 2017 to December 2017, we selected 80 stroke patients treated in Xinyang Central Hospital as subjects by convenience sampling. All the patients were divided into control group (n=40, routine discharge nursing for 12 months) and observation group (n=40, motivational interviewing rehabilitation transitional care based on action research for 12 months) with the random number table. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) were used to evaluate the recovery of nerve function, motor function, ADL and depression of patients at discharge and 6 months after discharge, and we also compared the satisfaction with nursing between two groups. Results? At discharge, there were no statistical differences in the scores of NIHSS, FMA, ADL and HAMD of patients between two groups (P＞0.05). Six months after discharge, the scores of NIHSS, ADL and HAMD of patients in observation group were lower than those in control group;the score of FMA in observation group was higher than that in control group all with statistical differences (P＜0.01),and the satisfaction rate of the observation group was higher than that of control group with statistical difference (P＜0.01). Conclusions? The motivational interviewing rehabilitation transitional care based on action research can accelerate the process of rehabilitation of stroke patients, relieve depression, improve their ADL, quality of life and satisfaction with nursing.