Abstract: Objective: To investigate the status of clinical nurses' achievement motivation and innovation behavior, and explore the correlation between them. Methods: Using Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS) and nurse innovative behavior scale, 682 clinical nurses were investigated. Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis were used to explore the effect of achievement motivation on innovation behaviors of nurses. Results: The motivation for nurses to pursue success(2.68±0.45) was higher than the motivation to avoid failure (2.57±0.48), and innovative behavior scores (3.25±0.64) were in the medium level, and the motivation to pursue success and various dimensions of innovative behavior were positively correlated (P<0.01), the motivation to pursue success ,the professional titles and position were the influence factors of innovative behavior(P<0.01). Conclusion: The higher the motivation to pursue success the nurses have, the more outstanding the innovation behavior they show. In order to improve their innovative behavior, nursing managers should take measures to improve the motivation to pursue success of nurses.