Premenstrual symptoms are gradually becoming recognized socially and measures taken to cope with premenstrual symptoms are changing. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in degree of recognition, in physical and emotional symptoms and in means for coping with premenstrual symptoms between nursing students and their mothers at the ages of the nursing students. This study was conducted between July and November, 2016. 272 nursing students and 272 mothers of the students were recruited. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tokushima University Hospital. A self-administered questionnaire that took about 15 min to complete was designed. The proportion of students who recognized premenstrual symptoms was 98% and the proportion of mothers who recognized premenstrual symptoms at the same age as the students was 76%. The proportions of students who had moderate to severe physical and emotional symptoms were higher than those of the mothers. The items with the highest percentages of students and mothers who answered moderate to severe physical and emotional symptoms were desire for sweets and irritability, respectively. The proportion of students who took measures to cope with premenstrual symptoms was higher than that of the mothers. Physical symptoms in the students were significantly correlated with those in their mothers. The degrees of physical and emotional symptoms in the students were greater than those in the mothers at the same age as the students and measures taken for coping with these symptoms were diversified. The increasing availability of information on premenstrual symptoms and changes in lifestyle may contribute to the increase in prevalence of premenstrual symptoms.