Objective To explore the clinical application value of Orem self-care theory in the mental nursing of children with acute leukemia .Methods Fifty-five children with acute leukemia were randomly divided into the control group ( n=27 ) and the experimental group ( n=28 ) according to single and double number .The control group received the routine nursing , and the experimental group received the nursing intervention according to Orem self -care theory on the basis of the routine nursing .The changes of mental status and the nursing satisfaction were evaluated and compared between two groups through the Symptom Checklis-90 ( SCL-90 ) , Hamilton Anxiety Scale ( HAMA ) , and Hamilton Depression Scale ( HAMD ) . Results The anxiety and depression were mainly dominated in children with leukemia .One week after the intervention, the score of HAMA in the experimental group decreased from (18 ±6)to (12 ±5),and was lower than (16 ±3)in the control group; the score of HAMD in the experimental group decreased from (23 ±8) to (17 ±3), and was lower than (20 ±4) in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=3.50, 2.39, 2.68, 1.87, respectively;P<0.05).The nursing satisfaction in the experimental group was 96.4%, and was higher than 85.2%in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2 =3.47, P<0.05).Conclusions The application of Orem self-care theory in children with acute leukemia can obviously alleviate their anxiety and depression , and improve clinical nursing satisfaction .