To improve the quality of health care and make better ethical decisions, it is important to identify the relationship between ethical performance and ethical sensitivity. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between moral performance and moral sensitivity in nursing students. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on nursing students. Questionnaires of demographic characteristics, moral performance, and moral sensitivity were completed by the students and finally collected by the researcher. After collecting the data, it was analyzed by SPSS version 23 software. The findings revealed that the average score of moral sensitivity and moral performance of the participants was 69.18 ± 7.05 and 146.11 ± 15.91, respectively. In addition, the results showed that the relationship between moral sensitivity and its subscales with moral performance was significant (P < 0.05). The relationship between professional knowledge and moral performance (total score) was not significant (P > 0.05). The findings of the research revealed that moral sensitivity has a significant relationship with moral performance and this variable can be considered as an important and influential factor in improving the moral performance of students. These results can help to design suitable educational programs, improve the level of moral education in nursing students, and promote the improvement of their moral performance.
