Background: The use of distance education, which has become a necessity with the onset of the pandemic, in the field of nursing, as in other fields, has led to concerns about the quality of education and academic success. Aim: This research was carried out to determine the academic achievement levels of nursing department students and the factors affecting them in the distance education period. Methods: The universe of this descriptive study consisted of all students studying in the Nursing Department of the Faculty of Health Sciences of a university in the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The research was completed with 205 students who could not be selected from the universe and could be reached. “Student Information Form”, “Education Status Form” and “Academic Achievement Inventory Scale for University Students” were used to collect data. Percentage distributions, means, t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used in the analysis of the data. Results: It was determined that 32.7% of the students included in the study had a year-end average between 3.01-3.50, 81% had problems with distance education, and 62.9% had difficulties in following distance education courses due to the internet. It was determined that the average score of the students’ academic achievement inventory was 63.62±12.19. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the academic achievement inventory according to the end-of-year grade point averages of the students, the difficulty in continuing the courses with the distance education system, following the courses due to the internet and computer limitations, accessing the course materials and using the information technologies. Conclusion: As a result of the research, it was determined that the majority of the students had problems with distance education, but their academic achievement was at a moderate level. It was determined that factors such as students’ end-of-year grade point averages, having problems while continuing distance education, having problems in accessing course materials and using information technologies affect their academic achievement levels. It can be recommended to provide trainings and raise awareness to enable students to use information technologies and access distance education materials.