Objective To explore the main sources of work stress of new nurses in children′s hospital, to analyze the causes, and to provide reference for managers to find out reasonable ways of reducing work stress in new nurses. Methods Phenomenological method was used to explore stress experience of new nurses. A total of 10 new nurses were interviewed by semi-structured talk. Topics were refined by reading, analyzing, reflecting, classifying and refining the interview data. Results Four main stress topics of new nurses included professional knowledge and skills, nature of work, performance evaluation and interpersonal relationship. Conclusions New nurses have great stress at work. Managers should find reasonable ways to relieve their stress, provide help for them, make them adapt to the new environment and work as soon as possible, enhance the sense of ownership and provide better service for patients.