Background and purpose: Patient satisfaction is a complex phenomenon that is influenced by several factors, amongst which nursing care is one of the most important one. The aim of this study was to evaluate the patients' satisfaction with nursing care in Behshahr public hospitals, Iran, 2014.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 300 patients using available sampling. Data was collected by Patient Satisfaction Instrument (PSI) and analyzed by SPSS applying descriptive and inferential statistics (Fisher's exact test).

Results: The results showed that only 3% of patients were completely satisfied with services delivered, 20% were moderately satisfied and 77% were dissatisfied with nursing care. The highest level of satisfaction with nursing care was found to be in cardiac intensive care unit and the lowest satisfaction level was observed in internal medicine ward for women. Among different variables, the type of ward was found to be significantly correlated with patients’ satisfaction level (P< 0.01).

Conclusion: Our investigation revealed low levels of patients' satisfaction with nursing care. There is a direct correlation between health organizations and patient satisfaction, therefore, constant evaluation of services delivered seems to be essential. Moreover, identifying related factors and presenting operational strategies would be helpful in eliminating the factors causing patient dissatisfaction.