This paper employs a historical research method, comprehensively utilizing Chinese and English sources, including contemporary journals and archival materials, to systematically trace the evolutionary trajectory of nursing schools in modern China from 1884 to 1949, with these nursing schools serving as the primary focus of investigation. The study finds that this development primarily progressed through three principal phases. The first phase was the origins and emergence (1884—1912), initiated by Western missionaries with a focus on apprenticeship-based training and a geographical distribution concentrated along rivers and coastal areas. The second phase was the standardization and localization (1912—1937), driven toward standardization by the Chinese Nursing Association and initiated the process of localization by rising nationalism trending and government intervention. The third phase was the challenge and transformation (1937—1949), during which the impact of war shifted the institutional administrative authority from missionary organizations to the state, leading to significant educational restructuring. Nursing schools served as the core vehicle for the transplantation and institutionalization of the modern nursing knowledge system and professional framework in China, and their evolution facilitated the crucial shift of nursing education from an apprenticeship model to a school-based system. Reflecting on these historical achievements and limitations offers significant insights for deepening nursing education reform and fostering industry-education integration in the new era.