The incidence rates of nutritional risk and malnutrition among surgical patients are relatively high which are key factors affecting the surgical prognosis and the rehabilitation process. A large number of studies have confirmed that for surgical patients with nutritional risk and malnutrition before surgery formulating a nutritional support treatment plan in a timely manner and implementing it in a standardized way are important measures to reduce postoperative complications. Whole-course nutritional management runs through all stages before surgery after surgery and after discharge. Its core elements include five links nutritional screening assessment diagnosis intervention and monitoring. By establishing a multidisciplinary nutritional support treatment team led by surgeons nutritional diagnosis and treatment are carried out in a standardized manner according to the metabolic characteristics of surgical patients at different stages of the perioperative period. Combining with the current status of surgical nutritional management in China this article focuses on discussing key issues in whole -course nutritional management such as prehabilitation before surgery early enteral nutrition after surgery and oral nutritional supplementation after discharge with a view to promoting the postoperative rehabilitation process. However in the implementation process of whole-course nutritional management there are still difficulties such as insufficient human resources lagging professional training lack of standardized processes and policy support which restrict its widespread promotion and standardized application. In the future with the increasing attention paid by medical institutions at all levels relying on the guidance of clinical nutrition experts and professional societies and strengthening discipline construction and multidisciplinary collaboration it is expected to promote the in-depth development of whole-course nutritional management provide more precise and efficient nutritional support treatment for the rapid rehabilitation of surgical patients continuously improve the quality of medical care and optimize the health economic benefits.