Nurses' perception toward their behaviors for keeping surgical instruments moist has been rarely studied. The survey which utilized a questionnaire regarding respondent's demographic information and a self-designed nurses' perception-behavior scale for keeping surgical instruments moist was conducted with 360 nurses from a hospital in China. Total score of nurses' perception-behavior scale for keeping surgical instruments moist was 139.93 ± 15.145. Score of nurses' perception-behavior scale for keeping surgical instruments moist varied with age, length of service, and job title, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Length of service was the main factor affecting nurses' perception toward their behaviors for keeping surgical instruments moist. Nurses should be offered intensive training on keeping surgical instruments moist due to their inadequate perception on it. The nurses' change in health beliefs and behaviors must be based on developing the right attitude.