Objective To explore the different latent class and characteristics of the cognitive ability level of undergraduate nursing students in hospice care based on the individual-centered perspective,and analyze its influencing factors to provide the reference for the formulation of targeted nursing education.Methods Nursing students in a medical university in Yunnan Province were selected from March 2023 to June 2023.The general data questionnaire and hospice care knowledge questionnaire were used to conduct a cross-sectional survey.SPSS and Mplus were used for the data analysis.Results Three latent class of hospice care cognitive ability were identified,which were named as hospice care high cognitive ability group,general cognitive ability group,and low cognitive ability group,accounting for 28.74%,57.29%,and 13.97%,respectively;Nursing students'gender,nationality,place of residence,earning and practice experience of hospice care(whether they had the contact with end-stage cancer patients,whether they had received the hospice care related training),and whether they were willing to engage in the hospice care related work were the influencing factors of different potential categories of cognitive ability of hospice care among nursing students(P<0.05).Conclusion There are three latent class of hospice care cognitive ability of nursing students.Male minority nursing students who have not been exposed to end-stage cancer patients and have not received the hospice care-related training,are unwilling to engage in the hospice care-related work.Male ethnic minority nursing students residing in rural areas have the weaker cognitive levels of hospice care.Scholars in the future can formulate targeted training strategies according to different latent class of hospice care cognitive ability to improve nursing students'hospice care cognitive ability and reserve talents for hospice care teams.