ABSTRACT Objective: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic seen all over the world, face-to-face training has been postponed and replaced with online training. In nursing education, while there were problems related to motivation even during formal training, distance education is thought to affect students’ motivation levels. This study, therefore, aims to examine the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on students’ motivation. Materials and Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 158 students. Personal Information Form, Motivation’s Resources and Problems Scale were used for data collection. The data were collected through the online survey method between 1-31 May 2020 and were analyzed in SPSS 21.0 program using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Student’s t-test and ANOVA test. Results: It was found that the Covid-19 pandemic affects the motivation of 79.1% of the students and negatively affects the motivation of 52.5% of them. Students who reported that their motivation was negatively affected, on the other hand, were seen to be affected negatively due to the factors such as performing distance learning and failure to perform the applied courses. It was observed that the motivation of the students was negatively affected due to distance education, and their motivation increased with the increase in the prestige of the nursing profession. Conclusion: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the distance education and the fact that the applied lessons could not be done face to face affected the motivation of the students negatively. Developing strategies to increase students’ motivation and carrying out studies comparing distance learning and face-to-face training in nursing education was recommended.Keywords: Covid-19; Pandemics; Motivation