Objective To study the knowledge, usage and demand of MOOC among nursing students in vocational colleges and to provide information basis for the set-up of MOOC course in nursing field. Methods By convenient sampling method, 216 students in nursing information group of Changchun Medical College were selected and investigated. Self-designed questionnaires about the use state of MOOC were used to investigate the situation of knowledge, usage and demand among nursing students. Results Only 15.74% of the nursing students had knowledge of MOOC, and there was no statistically significant difference among different grades (χ2=5.321, P>0.05). 60.00% of the nursing students knew MOOC by teachers and classmates. The registration rate of MOOC was only 5.09%. 9 students among 11 registered students dropped course halfway. The main factors that influenced the use of MOOC among nursing students include the lack of understanding of MOOC, lack of learning motivation, lack of time, and dull of course content or teaching form, etc. Nursing students have widespread demand for MOOC, and they hope that the course is teaching in Chinese, and the time of course can be controlled within 20 minutes, and various teaching contents should be provided to meet the demands of different people. Conclusions The knowledge of MOOC among nursing students was not optimistic; the registration rate was low, and the drop rate of course was high, so related education institutions should strengthen the publicity and know the demand of nursing students for MOOC, so as to provide teaching contents with high quality that could draw attention of students, and realize the effective advance of MOOC in the field of nursing. Key words: Vocational college; Nursing students; MOOC; Status quo; Demand