Objective:To assess the application effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) on nursing teaching in higher vocational schools.Methods:A total of 204 nursing students, including 76 students from Grade 2017 and 128 students from Grade 2018, were selected and divided into the observation group, which included 41 students from Grade 2017 and 74 students from Grade 2018 receiving PBL method, and the control group, which encompassed the others receiving traditional teaching methods. General self-efficacy feelings and problem-solving abilities of students in different grade in two groups were assessed at the beginning and the end of the term.Results:The scores of general self-efficacy feeling between the observation group and the control group at the beginning of the term showed no statistically significant differences ( P>0.05); the scores of general self-efficacy feeling at the end of the term in the observation group were obviously higher than those in the control group [(32.21±4.17) vs. (28.25±3.74), t=7.067, P<0.01]. The scores in Grade 2017 and Grade 2018 in the observation group were (32.61±3.79) and (31.99±4.38), respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group in Grade 2017 (27.45±3.95) and in Grade 2018 (28.74±3.55) at the end of the term. The scores of problem-solving abilities in Grade 2017 and Grade 2018 in the observation group were (25.35±2.78) and (25.99±3.19), respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group [(21.34±2.92), (21.30±3.51), t=6.064, t=7.679, P<0.01, P<0.01]. Conclusion:PBL method in nursing students can effectively improve the general self-efficacy feeling and problem-solving ability of students, which is worthy of promotion in higher vocational schools.