Introduction Occupational stigma toward nurses exerts a negative impact on the physical and mental health and work performance of nurses. However, hitherto, there has been no quantitative instrument designed to assess occupational stigma toward nurses. Objective The present study aimed to develop the Nurse Occupational Stigma Scale (NOSS) and test its reliability and validity in the Chinese context. Methods The items of the scale were formed through the open-ended interview and literature review. A questionnaire survey was administered among 765 patients using NOSS and the Caring Behaviors Inventory (CBI-24). Results In the initial questionnaire, a total of 21 items were developed, and 5 items were dropped for cross-loadings. The formal scale consists of 16 items divided into three dimensions of negative label, nurse-patient relationship, and devaluation and discrimination. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the three-factor model fitted well ( χ 2 /df=2.635, RMSEA=0.064, RFI=0.926, CFI=0.962, NFI=0.941, IFI=0.953). The total scores of the NOSS and the scores of all dimensions were significantly negatively correlated with the scores of the CBI-24. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale and all dimensions were between 0.827–0.920, and the split-half reliability coefficients were between 0.826–0.942. The NOSS had the measurement invariance across gender. Conclusion With its good reliability and validity, the NOSS can be an appropriate instrument for researchers to conduct studies about nurse occupational stigma.