Introduction <p>One of the important occupational challenges of nurses is moral distress, which can negatively affect their mental health and the quality of clinical care. On the other hand, On the other hand, higher emotional intelligence is associated with better coping and professional performance. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and moral distress in nurses.</p> Methods <p>This cross-sectional study was conducted from July to October 2025, and 210 nurses working in 4 hospitals in Qom, Iran were selected using stratified random sampling. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, the Moral Distress Scale–Revised (MDS-R), and Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), which were completed by self-report. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression). A significance level of 5% was considered.</p> Results <p>The mean total scores for emotional intelligence and moral distress among participants were 93.11 ± 20.33 and 188.54 ± 34.19, respectively. Also, there was a significant relationship between the total score and the dimensions of emotional intelligence and moral distress among nurses, and adjusted R² showed that 15.6% of the variance in moral distress was explained by emotional intelligence components.</p> Conclusion <p>This study found a relationship between emotional intelligence and moral distress among nurses. Therefore, in addition to providing a supportive environment to reduce moral distress, educational programs aimed at improving emotional intelligence may be beneficial to strengthen nurses’ emotional intelligence.</p> Trial registration <p>Not applicable.</p>