Aims This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency and influencing factors of surgical ward nursing. Background High‐quality development of public hospitals and implementation of nursing fine management require improvements to promote nursing efficiency. Method This study examined input data, such as number of beds, nurses, and nursing hours, and output data on discharged person‐times, surgical output, and case mix index of released patients, in 40 surgical wards in China between September 2020 and August 2021. Nursing efficiency was assessed and analysed using data envelopment analysis, and changes in efficiency were dynamically evaluated using the Malmquist index analysis. Results The average total technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency were 78%, 94%, and 82%, respectively. In addition, 81% and 67% of surgical wards had input redundancy and output insufficiency, respectively. The monthly average total factor productivity was 118%, and the overall efficiency increased month after month. Conclusion Overall, nursing service efficiency was low, which was limited by scale efficiency, pure technical efficiency, or both. Implications for Nursing Management Data envelopment analysis could help nursing managers optimize nursing human resource allocation and nursing performance allocation.