Objective To understand the current situation of how nurses in tertiary hospitals perceive head nurses′ empowerment behavior and how head nurses′ empowerment behavior influences humanistic practice ability of nurses, and to provide references for measures aiming to enhance head nurses′ empowerment behavior and further improve humanistic practice ability of nurses.Methods Using convenient sampling, from March to June 2025, a general information questionnaire, the Nurse Managers′Empowering Behavioral Scale for Staff Nurses, and the Nurse Humanistic Professional Competence Scale were used to conduct a survey among 915 nurses from 5 tertiary hospitals in Xi′an. Results The nurses in the tertiary hospitals scored （160.03±18.44） points in head nurses′ empowerment behavior, and scored （96.36±16.82）points in humanistic practice ability. Head nurses′ empowerment behavior perceived by nurses, nurses′ age, professional title, years of working, and frequency of night shifts were influencing factors of nurses′ humanistic practice ability in tertiary hospitals （all P＜0.05）. Conclusion Empowerment behavior of head nurses and humanistic practice ability of nurses in tertiary hospitals are both at a medium level. The finding highlights that head nurse can empower nurses through scientific and reasonable empowerment behaviors, such as providing support, facilitating growth, respecting autonomy, and recognizing achievements. Such empowerment can expand the scope of nurses′ autonomy, encourage them to actively participate in decision-making, thus driving nursing services towards a more humanized, refined, and high-quality direction.