Objective To explore the effect of community-hospital continuous nursing on the satisfaction of day surgery patients in terms of their nursing needs. Methods Sixty patients hospitalized in the day surgery ward in our hospital from April 2014 to March 2015 were enrolled in this study. According to the order of admission, they were divided into control group and observation group with 30 patients in each. Patients in the control group were given health guidance, while those in the observation group were given continuous nursing. Questionnaire survey was conducted in both the two groups. The nursing needs of patients after surgery were summarized, and the satisfaction of patients’ nursing needs through different nursing methods were analyzed. Quality of life questionnaire-C30 was used to evaluate the quality of life of the two groups of patients one month and three months after surgery, and the incidence of postoperative complications of the two groups was statistically analyzed. The changes of daily life ability of patients one month and three months after surgery were evaluated by the modified PAP index. Results Day surgery patients had a high demand for postoperative incision care, dressing change, postoperative medication, dietary guidance, postoperative guidance, health education and other aspects of health care needs. There was little demand for oral pipeline care and physical therapy. The satisfaction rate of patients in the observation group toward n ursing service (96.7%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (66.7%) (P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative wound bleeding, poor healing, infection, urinary retention and other complications in the observation group was lower than those in the control group, but only the difference in the incidence of infection was statistically significant (P < 0.05). One month and three months after surgery, the quality of life in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The complete self-care ratio in the observation group was higher than that in the control group, and the proportion of slight defect in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Continuous community-hospital nursing can improve the satisfaction of patients toward nursing service, promote patients’ quality of life, and facilitate patients’ recovery after surgery.