The purpose of this study was to examine the cognition and the attitudes towards the oriental medicine of the nursing students. The questionnaire consisted of the 8 general questions, the 19 questions on the medical characteristics and the 36 questions on the cognition and the effects of the oriental medicine. As the result of the factor analysis, the four factors were divided. In the factor one, they were affirmative in the cognition and the effects of the herbs and the acupuncture and so on. Whreas they considered the western medicine more effective in the surgeon, the operation and the microbial disease. In the factor two, they said that the oriental medicine agreed with their constitution. They had a good recognition of the herbs and recognized its effects, adding that the oriental medicine was mysterious. In the factor three, they said that the oriental medine lacked the scientific bases and herb medicine were not convenient, But they recognized their effects. In the factor four, they recognizd the limit of the oriental medicine. They thought that it was desirable to utilize the oriental medicine with the western medicine as the complementary relation. The corelation between each type and the general features had relationship(P<0.05) as follows: the grade and factor 1, the age and factor 1, family situation and factor 4, family number and factor 4, and whether a family has a patient and factor 1. The higher the grade was, the much they had the western medical-oriented cognition. This was because ~he present nursing education system was the western medical-oriented one. It includs the only one oriental medical course. According to the results of this study, nursing students recognized the general effects of the oriental medical from the disease prevention to its treatment in the first grade. But they came to consider the oriental medical as the complementary fact of the western medical as their grade was higher. However, owing to the application of the oriental medical insurance, the use of the oriental medicine is on the increase and in the nursing field the atteention on the oriental nursing is growing too. There fore the suitable application of the courses related to the oriental medical is required for activating the oriental medicine.