Objective To explore the application effect of a self-designed checklist teaching method for IV catheter system practice among nursing students during internship. Methods A total of 52 students (nursing undergraduate students of 2013 and 2014) who practiced in the otolaryngology ward of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from July 2016 to June 2017 were selected as the research objects. The students were randomly divided into two groups with 25 in the experimental group and 27 in the control group. The experimental group adopted the self-designed checklist teaching method for IV catheter system practice, while the control group adopted the traditional teaching method. A self-designed rating scale for IV practice was conducted to evaluate the students' practical skill, a self-designed questionnaire was conducted to evaluate the effect of checklist teaching method. Results The mean scores of IV practice was [44(39,46)] in the experimental group and [40(34,43.5)] in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (Z=2.062, P＜0.05). The score of effect evaluation for the checklist teaching method by students from experiment group was 8.76, and 72.0%(18/25) students believed that it was very helpful to be trained with this method during second week of internship. Conclusions Checklist teaching method for IV catheter system practice can effectively enhance the scores of students, which strengthens the students' capacity based on well understanding operation process and strictly following regulations concerned, and thus improves trainees' clinical skills and ensures teaching quality.