Objective To investigate the ways of scientific research knowledge acquirement, and the situation of research capacity and demand of neurological nurses in Sichuan Province. Methods From May to June 2015, 153 neurological nurses from 7 hospitals of Sichuan Province were enrolled by convenient stratified sampling method. The ways of acquiring scientific research knowledge, research capacity, and research demand of the nurses were investigated by questionnaire. Results Among the 153 nurses, there were 50.3% with low level, 47.7% with moderate level, and 2.0% with high level of scientific research capacity, respectively. The total scores of nursing research capacity ranged from 4 to 101. The dimension of " capacity of generating the research ideas” was the highest, and the dimensions of " capacity of designing research protocol” and " capacity of analyzing research data and material” were the lowest. Of the respondents, 66.2% had never attended any research training program, 51.3% acquired scientific research knowledge by themselves, and 65.6% were willing to participate research training courses. The respondents tended to study on their own by internet. There were significant differences in scientific research capacity among neurological nurses with different initial education, attending the college entrance examination or not, having attended research training and self-study or not (P<0.05). Conclusions Most nurses acquire scientific research knowledge by themselves, and insufficient research training couldn’t satisfy the research demand of neurological nurses. The initial education degree and research study intention are related to research capacity. However, due to the limited amount of samples, the positive influence of self-study and research training on the research capacity still need to be further explored.