Aims and Objectives To explore the relationship between critical thinking disposition and research competence among clinical nurses. Background The development of the nursing discipline and evidence‐based practice calls for research competence and critical thinking disposition among clinical nurses. The verification of the relationship between critical thinking disposition and research competence could make contributions to promoting related knowledge building and providing practical implications for nurses, nurse educators and nurse managers. However, there is a lack of evidence exploring the relationship between critical thinking disposition and research competence in clinical nurses. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods A total of 156 clinical nurses from two tertiary hospitals participated in this study. The Chinese Version of Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and Research Competence Scale for Clinical Nurses were used to measure critical thinking disposition and nursing research competence, respectively. Data were collected in September 2017. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and linear regression were used to analyse data. The STROBE checklist was used in reporting this study. Results The clinical nurses surveyed showed a positive inclination to general critical thinking but reported an overall low level of nursing research competence. A moderate degree of positive correlation was found between critical thinking disposition and research competence among clinical nurses. Educational degree was also found as an influencing factor of nursing research competence of clinical nurses. Conclusion The critical thinking disposition of clinical nurses is positively related to their research competence. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses with a passion for nursing research should pay attention to improving their critical thinking dispositions. Nurse educators and managers should provide better learning, working and research environments and more supports to cultivate critical thinking disposition and improve nursing research competence in nursing research education and practice.