Objective To explore nurses′ willingness to recommend cognitive rehabilitation, so as to provide references for developing targeted education, training, and management. Methods A descriptive qualitative study was designed based on the Health Belief Model. Using purposive sampling, 16 nurses were selected to conduct semi-structured, one-to-one, in-depth interviews, and the interview data were analyzed and themes were summarized using directed content analysis. Results Four themes and eleven sub-themes were identified:perceived severity (perceived threat of dementia, perceived disease burden), perceived benefits (slowing disease progression and improving patients′ quality of life, reducing family caregiving burden and maintaining family relationships, deepening nurse-patient trust and enhancing collaborative effectiveness), perceived barriers (time limited and workload, insufficient family support, lack of targeted training, insufficient multidisciplinary communication and collaboration), and self-efficacy (proactive expansion of professional roles, professional confidence as empowerment). Conclusion Nurses demonstrate favorable perceptions and motivation for recommending cognitive rehabilitation to patients, yet they still face numerous internal resistance and practical challenges. Nursing managers should establish practical training systems and strengthen interdisciplinary teamwork to enhance nurses′ recommendation capability and confidence, thereby promoting the delivery of cognitive rehabilitation services.