Objective To explore the application value of nursing intervention based on protective motivation theory in self-management with young and middle-aged stroke diseases.Methods A total of 80 cases with acute ischemic stroke(AIS) admitted to Shenyang First People′s Hospital,Liaoning Province from March 2019 to May 2020 were selected and divided into two groups,40 cases in each group.The control group was given routine nursing,the observation group was given nursing intervention mode based on protective motivation theory,then the bad living habits (smoking,alcoholism staying up late and high-fatdiet)after intervention and the scores of disease self-management ability between the two groups before and after intervention were compared,the length of stay and life quality at discharge were compared.Results After intervention,the percentages of unhealthy living habits such as smoking,alcoholism,staying up late and high-fat diet in the observation group were lower than those of the control group,the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05),the scores of self-care,symptom self-treatment,drug self-treatment,psychological self-regulation and social intercourse ability in the observation group were higher than those of the control group,the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).The duration of hospitalization in observation group was shorter than that in the control group,the scores and total scores of quality of life at discharge were higher than those in the control group,the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion The nursing intervention model based on the theory of protective motivation can better change patients′ bad living habits,improve disease self-management ability and shorten hospitalization time and improve life quality.