We have examined the influence of early postoperative nutritional nursing on the prognosis of patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. A total of 82 patients with gastrointestinal surgery were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January 2020 and December 2022 for this study. The patients were divided into two equalsized control and treatment groups. The control group received routine care, whereas the treatment group received added nutritional care. Compared to the control group, the first exhaust time, first defecation time, and hospitalization time in the treatment group were shorter (P < 0.01). On the 7th day after surgery, no difference was found in the levels of albumin and total protein between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, on the 4th and 7th days after surgery, the diamine oxidase and malondialdehyde values in the treatment group were lower relative to the control group. Body weight in the treatment group was higher, the incidence of complications was lower, and the quality-of-life score and immune function were better compared to the control group (P < 0.05). To sum up, early nutritional care is beneficial to improving the immune function indexes, nutritional indexes, and quality of life of patients after gastrointestinal surgery, as well as reducing the occurrence of postoperative adverse reactions.