Special characteristics of care environments have always presented nurses with some challenges. One particular situation is futile care, which is frequently accompanied by countless moral and legal challenges. The dominant atmosphere in futile care may cause moral distress to nurses and lead to a sense of guilt, pain, suffering, job dissatisfaction, and eventually cause nurses to leave the job. This descriptive-analytical study attempted to investigate the relationship between futile care and moral distress in intensive care nurses. Study subjects were 300 nurses in intensive care units in Kerman, Iran and were selected by convenience sampling based on inclusion criteria. Study tools included Corley’s 21-item questionnaire on moral distress and a researcher-made 17-item questionnaire on futile care. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16 and suitable analytical and descriptive tests.