We aimed to determine sleep quality and anxiety levels of surgical nurses fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. This study was carried out as a cross-sectional and descriptive study. The data were collected by using a sociodemographic data form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). A total of 302 healthcare workers participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 31.95±7.82, and 73.2% of the participants were female, 58.9% of the participants were married and 31.5% of them working in the surgical intensive care and operating room services. Of all participants, 73.5% had poor sleep quality and mean PSQI was 8.18±3.69. The BAI score of surgical nurses was 16.61±12.12 and 22.5% of them experienced severe anxiety. The means of PSQI and BAI were higher in women, working in surgical intensive care and operating room services, working over 40 hours a week (p<0.05). BAI score was responsible for 45.6% of the change on PSQI score (p<0.001). The COVID-19 outbreak dramatically increased the level of anxiety and negatively affected sleep quality. The mental health of the surgical nurses should be monitored closely. It is recommended to provide psychological support to the healthcare workers.