Objective  To explore the effects of e-learning based international cooperative training on developing the core competence of psychiatric nurses. Methods  Nurses of the experimental group (n=67) and control group (n=56) attended the training courses for consolidating and developing core competence of psychiatric nurses from June to October, 2013. The Nursing Department of Mental Health Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine cooperated with Department of Nursing Science of University of Turku, Finland to provide the e-learning courses. Nurses of the experimental group attended five-month training courses in addition to regular hospital nursing training. Competency Inventory for Registered Nurse (CIRN) was adopted to evaluate the core competence of nurses before and after training. Results  The differences of the overall score of CIRN and values of factors (except professional development) of the experimental group before and after training were statistically significant (P<0.01). The differences of the overall score of CIRN and values of factors (except clinical nursing and professional development) between the experimental group and control group after training were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion  The e-learning based international cooperative training has good effects on developing the core competence of psychiatric nurses and facilitates international cooperation and communication of psychiatric nursing continuing education.