Abstract: Every acute hospital should meet Japanese National Health Ministry rules that nursing staffing should be based on nursing needs, that is, nursing needs should be calculated according the treatment and activity of each patient. Medical software (DPC)should be used to calculate the ratio (patients: nurse) in each care unit, on the basis of coefficient of patients in each category. Nursing needs represents the demands of patients care and actual workload of nursing care, which was a scientific and rational method to calculate nurse staffing, should be promoted in clinical use for nurses managers throughout China.