Background and Objectives: Tube feeding is one of the supportive nutritional methods in intensive care units (ICU), which is associated with some complications, despite numerous advantages for patients. Nurses’ knowledge and performance play an important role in preventing and causing tube feeding’s complications. The present study was performed with the intention of determining knowledge and comparing the performance of ICU nurses in regard to tube feeding with existing standards in educational and treatment centers of Qom University of Medical Sciences.

Methods: In this descriptive study, 68 eligible nurses working in ICUs of hospitals of Qom University of medical sciences (2014), were entered into the study using two-stage sampling. Data collection was carried out using a researcher-made questionnaire and and a standard checklist was used for. Data were analyzed by statistical tests of independent t, one sample t-, and analysis of variance. The significance level was considered 0.05.

Results: The mean score of knowledge and performance in ICU nurses was average. There was a significant difference between the performance scores of male and female nurses (p<0.001). A significant statistical difference was observed in the performance scores of tube feeding between nurses below and above 30 years of age. The comparison of performance score with the standard showed that the mean score of performance (56±15.2) had a significant difference from the standard score at level less than 0.001.

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the mean score of nurses’ performance for tube feeding was average and significantly lower than the standard. Therefore, training measures and in-service training seem to be necessary for nursing staffs.