Objective To provide evidences for constructing the anesthesia nursing training system suitable for China by surveying the current clinical training situation of Chinese anesthesia nurses by the methodological triangulation. Methods The convenience sampling is adopted and 45 of 55 anesthesia nurses of 30 hospitals were selected. The current clinical training situation of anesthesia nurses in China was surveyed by the methodological triangulation, which combined the quantitative method (questionnaire) and qualitative method (semi-structured interview). Results The anesthesia nursing was practiced in 29 of 30 hospitals and needed development in different degrees and should be supported by training. Current anesthesia nursing training programs failed to meet the clinical needs of anesthesia nurses. Conclusion Based on clear training topics and contents, the construction of standardized and unified training programs which focuses on the clinical practice will help Chinese anesthesia nurses to identify the role of themselves and develop the specialty of nursing.