Abstract Objective: To examine the association between discharge teaching quality and caregiving competence among parents of preterm infants at neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge, and to test whether internal locus of control mediates this association. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 409 parents of preterm infants discharged from the NICU of a tertiary hospital in Shandong Province, China, were recruited by convenience sampling between May and October 2025.