Background: Stress has become a chronic and pervasive condition in the world today. Any stimulus which evokesa stress response is called a stressor. The objective of the study was to develop a questionnaire to measure stressorsamong first year B.Sc nursing students in Kerala.Methods: Descriptive cross sectional design integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods were used forthe study. Data was analyzed by qualitative content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: A 22 item screening instrument named as Nursing Students Stressor Questionnaire (NSSQ) was developed.Test retest reliability was found to be 0.923 with 95% CI 0.878 – 0.957. The internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha ofthe tool was 0.866. Construct validity was established by exploratory factor analysis which yielded seven factorswith Eigen Values more than one. The factors explained 60% of total variance.Conclusion: NSSQ is a simple, easy to administer, self-reported screening instrument with acceptable reliabilityand validity.