Background <p>Empathy and compassionate care are essential competencies for nursing students in their interactions with patients. Reflective practice, which entails contemplating and drawing lessons from past experiences, has the potential to enhance these qualities. This study aims to investigate the influence of reflective practice on the cultivation of empathy and compassion among nursing students.</p> Methods <p>This retrospective study targeted undergraduate nursing interns who had been employed for less than six months and lacked prior clinical work experience. The research group underwent training in reflection-based practice. Following the implementation of this practice, assessments were conducted to measure the participants’ reflective practice ability, compassion, caring behaviors, and empathy skills.</p> Results <p>Compared to the non-reflective practice group, the reflective practice group exhibited higher scores in terms of understanding, patience, perseverance, openness to adopting new ideas, emotional nursing skills, and empathy after the training. Additionally, the reflective practice group demonstrated greater compassion.</p> Conclusion <p>This retrospective study underscores the substantial impact of reflective practice on the development of empathy and compassion among undergraduate nursing students.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>