Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting graduate nurses’ intention to care for emerging infectious disease patients based on the theory of rational action. Methods: The participants were 127 graduate nurses who had graduated from in Gyeongsangbuk Province. Data were collected from March 25 to April 1, 2022. Descriptive statistics, the t-test, analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results: The mean scores for attitudes, subjective norms, and nursing intention for patients with emerging infectious diseases were 30.60±5.49, 30.17 ±6.38, and 69.19±8.97, respectively. Nursing intention was significantly different according to major satisfaction (t=-3.02, p=.003) and the presence of medical personnel in the family (t=2.30, p=.023). Nursing intention had a significant positive correlation with attitudes (r=.44, p<.001) and subjective norms (r=.37, p<.001). The variables that significantly affected nursing intention were attitudes (β=.42, p<.001), satisfaction with the nursing major (β=.21, p=.008), and the presence of medical personnel in the family (β=.17, p=.026), with a total explanatory power of approximately 26%. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that the development and application of programs on positively changing attitudes toward patients with emerging infectious diseases and increasing satisfaction with the nursing major are needed.