Objective To observe the clinical effect of psychological nursing intervention in patients with cataract surgery. Methods A total of 75 patients who underwent cataract surgery in Sichuan Forestry Central Hospital from January to December 2022 were randomly divided into control group (n=37) and observation group (n=38). The control group was given routine nursing, and the observation group was given psychological nursing intervention. The negative emotion score, physiological stress index, sleep quality, complications and nursing satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Results After nursing, the scores of BAI, BDI, PDQI and heart rate, blood pressure in the observation group were better than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group (7.89%) was lower than that in the control group (27.03%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The nursing satisfaction of the observation group (97.37%) was higher than that of the control group (78.38%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Psychological nursing intervention for patients with cataract surgery can improve the psychological and emotional problems, stabilize physiological stress indicators, improve sleep quality, reduce the incidence of complications, and improve patients' satisfaction with nursing.