Background <p>Self-directed learning is a crucial aspect of nursing education. Intelligence, as a factor that can be linked to self-directed learning and enhance students’ capacity for independent learning, is of significant interest. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and moral intelligence with self-directed learning among nursing students.</p> Methods <p>This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 nursing students during 2024. The data-gathering instrument consisted of five parts. The first part consisted of questions on demographic information and the rest parts were standard questionnaires included: Self-Directed Learning, emotional, spiritual and moral intelligence. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software. For statistical analysis independent t-test, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression were used.</p> Result <p>Participants were mostly female (74%), student (77.67%), single (87.33%). There were significant positive correlations between self-directed learning and emotional (<i>r</i> = 0.63, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), spiritual (<i>r</i> = 0.43, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), and moral intelligence (<i>r</i> = 0.62, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Emotional, spiritual, and moral intelligence together accounted for 52.1% of the variance in the self-directed learning.</p> Conclusion <p>Emotional, spiritual, and moral intelligence have been shown to be predictor of success in self-directed learning. Focusing on enhancing these factors in academic training can lead to improved self-directed learning.</p>