Background <p>Perceived stress in clinical practice in nursing students affects their professional behaviors.</p> Aims <p>Perceived stress in clinical practice in nursing students affects their professional behaviors. The study examined the effect of stress perceived by nursing students in clinical practice on professional behavior.</p> Methods <p>The correlational and descriptive study population consisted of nursing students studying at a state university in northern Türkiye, and the sample consisted of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year nursing students. “Personal Information Form,” <i>“</i>Nursing Students Professional Behaviors Scale,” and “Perceived Stress Scale for Nursing Students” forms and scales were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskall Wallis test, and linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data.</p> Results <p>A significant relationship was found between perceived stress and professional behavior in nursing students who participated in the study. In addition, there was a significant relationship between the mean scores of gender, class, reason for choosing nursing, liking the nursing profession and clinical practice, and smoking variables and the mean scores of perceived stress and professional behavior. It was also concluded that perceived stress had a predictive effect on professional behavior and sub-dimensions (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.005).</p> Conclusions <p>This study revealed that perceived stress in nursing students is effective in professional care behavior. Thus, it provides essential findings for increasing stress management and professional behaviors in nursing education. In this context, improvements in educational processes and strengthening support mechanisms to reduce the negative effects of stress will contribute to the professional development of nursing students.</p>