Introduction: Nurses performance is still not optimal. The aim this study was to develop a quality of nursing work life to improve nurse performance by integrating Swanson's theory of caring. Methods: An explanative observational design was used with cross-sectional approach. The sample was nurses in inpatient care, intensive care, surgical installations, neonates, hemodialysis from eight hospitals in East Java. The sample size of 430 respondents used total sampling. The variables included QNWL, individual, social and environmental, administrative factors, nurse performance. Data were collected using Nurse Quality of Communication with Patient Questionnaire (NQCPQ), Questionnaire of Personal and Organizational Values Congruence for Employee (Q-POVC), Questionnaire of Brooks & Anderson's quality of nursing work life. The data analysis used Partial Least Square. Results: Twenty-five indicators were declared valid (outer loading value> 0.5) with variable diversity was 24.43%, so that internal, social and environmental, operational and administrative factors affect the performance of nurses directly or indirectly through caring based on QNWL. Predictive relevance value was >0, which indicates that the model was good enough. The individual factors (p= 0.043; T-Statistics= 2.040), social and environment factors (p= 0.025; T= 2.242), administrative factors (p= 0.001; T= 3.438) have significant influence QNWL based on caring and QNWL based on caring had a significant influence on nurse performance (p= 0.000; T= 4.997). Conclusion: The development of the QNWL model based on caring has good effect in improving nurse performance. From the developed model, nurse performance related to individual factors, social and environmental factors, administrative factors.