Abstract: In order to be able to follow the predicted changes in healthcare systems, there has long been a need for a unified database that could transparently compare nursing care data from different service providers. The development of Nursing Minimum Data Sets (NMDS) has demonstrated that nursing care data can be sufficiently compared. The aim of the literature review is to raise the current level of knowledge regarding NMDS and to develop a structured description of NMDS, which can be a reference for China.