en Nursing Orginal research <strong><em>Background:</em></strong> Nurses experience moral distress due to barriers in the workplace in the process of moral decision-making. It seems that the psychological ability of nurses in&nbsp;clinical environments&nbsp;can reduce their moral distress.<br> <strong><em>Objectives: </em></strong>The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of moral distress and psychological ability of nurses&nbsp;working in hospitals affiliated to Shahroud University of Medical Sciences in 2018.<br> <strong><em>Methods:</em></strong> In this descriptive-correlational study, all eligible nurses were included in the study through the convenience sampling method. Two questionnaires were used to collect the data, including Corley&#39;s Moral Distress Scale and Spritzer&rsquo;s Psychological Empowerment. Finally, data analysis was performed using descriptive and analytical statistics. SPSS software was used to analyze the data by descriptive and inferential statistics tests such as independent t-test, Pearson&rsquo;s correlation, and unilateral analysis. (P-vlue <0.05).<br> <strong><em>Results</em></strong><strong>:</strong> The average frequency and intensity of the moral distress in nurses were classified based on the upper floor as 2.41 &plusmn; 1.02 and 2.63 &plusmn; 0.86, and the psychological capacity of the nurses was placed in the middle class which was 31.88 <span dir="RTL">&plusmn;</span> 4.92. Based on the findings, the frequency of moral distresshad an inverse relationship with the dimensions of independence and effectiveness and the total score of psychological ability (P<0.05). Eventually, there was a significant direct association between the average score of moral distress tension and the merit dimension of nurses&rsquo; psychological ability (P<0.05).<br> <strong><em>Conclusion:</em></strong> In general, a statistically significant relationship was found between moral distress and psychological ability in line with the interventions aimed at combating moral distress. moral distress, psychological empowerment, nurses 58 64 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-697-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Malihe Ameri amerimalihe@shmu.ac.ir 10031947532846007459 10031947532846007459 No School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran Shahrbanoo Goli shgoli@shmu.ac.ir 10031947532846007460 10031947532846007460 No Center for Health Related Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, Department of Epidemiology, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran atefeh vaezi vaeziatefeh@zums.ac.ir 10031947532846007461 10031947532846007461 Yes Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran