Ｏｂｊｅｃｔｉｖｅ　To study the status of human resources, tasks and management of anesthesia nurses in hospitals of Shanghai, and to provide reference basis for the allocation and management of anesthesia nursing staff in Shanghai.　Methods　The form of email questionnaire is used to investigate and analyze the 99 Grade II or higher rated hospitals in Shanghai.　Results　Ninety-eight questionnaires have been recycled, there are 401 anesthesia nurses in 98 investigated hospitals, and 21.4% hospitals have not been equipped with anesthesia nurses, only 22.1% hospitals set up a specialized position for anesthesia head nurse, anesthesia nurses take the management of PACU, narcotic, preparation for anestheia, analgesic pump configuration, postoperative analgesia and follow-up caring. Peri-anesthesia nursing has not been their normal tasks.　Conclusions　As the first grade clinical department in hospital, the human resources of anesthesia department in Shanghai is not reasonable. There are common problems such as shortage of anesthesia nurses, the quantity and quality of anesthesia nurses is difficult to meet the development of anesthesia discipline and practice demand of peri-anesthesia nursing.