ObjectiveTo translate evidence of "HIV/AIDS Clinical Nursing Practice Guideline" into clinical practice, in order to reduce the incidence and severity of symptoms of AIDS and to improve the quality of life of patients. MethodsWe integrated the best evidence into the HIV/AIDS inpatient unit of a tertiary hospital for infectious disease in Shanghai, China between September 2013 and February 2015. Based on the "Ottawa Model of Research Use", this study was divided into four stages: evaluating the status quo, building the evidence-based strategy, applying evidence-based decision-making, and evaluating results and reflecting. 148 patients were either assigned to an intervention group with HIV/AIDS-related symptom management protocol (n=74), or to a usual care group (n=74) for the duration of their antiretroviral therapy. Then Medical Outcomes Questionnaire (MOS-HIV) were applied to evaluate the life quality after intervention. ResultsMixed-effects regression indicated significant difference between groups across time in total MOS-HIV score. The intervention group increased more than the control group 2.72 points in total MOS-HIV scores per month (P<0.05). ConclusionThe evidence-translation and evidence-based decision-making of "HIV/AIDS Clinical Nursing Practice Guideline" can regulate nurse behavior, raise the quality of clinical care and improve the patients' quality of life.