Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of mind map in improving nursing students' autonomous learning ability. Methods A voluntary sample was randomly assigned to observation (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. The observation group used mind mapping method and the control group used traditional method to study Basic Nursing. The autonomic learning ability of the two groups was measured before and after the study, and the theoretical and experimental scores of the two groups were compared at the end of study. Results Before the study, the autonomous learning ability was (85.97 ± 14.39) in the observation group and (86.20 ± 14.37) in the control group, there was no significant difference (t = 0.063, P = 0.950). After the study, the autonomous learning ability (97.87 ± 12.37) of the observation group was significantly higher than (90.07 ± 12.99) of the control group (t = 2.382, P = 0.021). In the observation group the autonomous learning ability after study was significantly higher than that before study (t = 3.435, P = 0.001). But there was no significant difference in the autonomous learning ability of the control group before study and after study (t = 1.093, P = 0.279). The theoretical score and experimental operating score of observation group were (83.43 ± 7.70) and (84.70 ± 6.84) respectively, which were higher than those of the control group [(78.60 ± 9.08) and (80.93 ± 6.59) respectively], the differences were statistically significant (t = 2.222, P = 0.030; t = 2.172, P = 0.034). Conclusions Mind map can improve the autonomous learning ability of undergraduate nursing students and their academic performance.