BACKGROUND Ethics have a major role in activating human resources and attaining the goals of an organization. Ethical competency of nurse managers can increase the quality of care by affecting the performance of nurses and creating positive outcomes for the organization. The purpose of this study is to analyse the concept of ethical competence of nurse managers. METHODS This research is a qualitative study with content analysis approach. Sampling was done in hospitals in 2016-2017 and 10 nurse managers and 7 nurses were selected through purposive sampling. The data was collected through unstructured in-depth interviews using open questions. Data were analysed using conventional qualitative content analysis method. RESULTS The data resulted in the extraction of 10 categories and 4 themes, namely flexibility, approachability, observance of morality, and how to be a practical model. These themes express the meaning of perceived attributes of nurses and nurse managers from the ethical competency of nurse managers. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study, while presenting four essential characteristics of ethical competence of nurse managers, indicate the indexes related to these characteristics according to the conditions of the field. These findings can be used to design a tool for assessing ethical competence of nurse managers as well as designing empowerment programs for nurse managers.