Purpose: Little is known about the mediating role of organizational commitment in relationship between psychological empowerment and turnover intention among nurses. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of organizational commitment between psychological empowerment and turnover intention among nurses in teaching hospitals in Zahedan city in IR of Iran.

Methods: A correlational study was conducted in 2015 with 286 nurses were selected with simple random sampling method. The data collection instruments included the psychological empowerment scale, organizational commitment scale, turnover intention questionnaire and a demographic inventory. Validity and reliability of the scales were confirmed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Baron and Kenny’s analysis technique was used to test the mediating effect of organizational commitment in the relation between the two other variables.

Results: nurses reported high psychological empowerment, high organizational commitment and low turnover intention. Nurses’ empowerment significantly and positively correlated with their organizational commitment and negatively correlated with their turnover intention. Organizational commitment mediated the relationship between psychological empowerment and turnover intention.

Conclusions: The relationship between nurses’ empowerment and turnover intention was mediated by organizational commitment. This provides another tool by which nursing management can work to minimize turnover intention through enhancing the commitment level of nurses.