Abstract: The paper made a comparative analysis of the development process, the hierarchical structure and the main contents of the commonly nursing terminology system in foreign countries. It was proposed that nursing procedure was the main theoretical basis of the framework of foreign nursing terminology system, which further classified and defined the nursing terminology focusing on nursing diagnosis, nursing measures and nursing outcomes. Most foreign nursing terminology classification systems were divided into 2-3 levels. The higher or lower the level of the terminology was, the more abstract or more specific the meaning of the concept represented.