Objective To translate and validate the Hospital for Special Surgery Shoulder Surgery Expectation Survey (HSS-SSES) in Chinese, and to provide a scientific tool for assessing surgery expectations in patients with shoulder disorders. Methods Following the cross-cultural adaptation guidelines proposed by Beaton et al., the translation process included forward translation, synthesis, back-translation, cultural adaptation by experts, and pilot testing, forming the Chinese version of SSES. A convenience sample of 420 patients with shoulder disorders scheduled for surgery was recruited for questionnaire survey. Reliability and validity of the Chinese version were evaluated. Results The Chinese SSES consisted of 17 items across three dimensions. Exploratory factor analysis extracted three factors with a cumulative variance contribution of 69.051%. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit (χ2/df=2.352, RMSEA=0.078, RMR=0.056, CFI=0.932, TLI=0.921). Both convergent and discriminant validity met statistical standards (AVE>0.50, CR>0.70, and the square root of AVE greater than inter-factor correlations). The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach′s α=0.910) and test-retest reliability (ICC=0.866). Content validity index was satisfactory (I-CVI ranging from 0.800 to 1.000, S-CVI/UA=0.824, S-CVI/Ave=0.965). Conclusion The Chinese version of the SSES demonstrates good reliability and validity and can serve as an effective tool for evaluating surgical expectations in patients with shoulder disorders, providing support for clinical practice and related research.