Abstract Occupational stress has been the object of research in different populations. The aim of this study is to analyze the association between psychosocial job stress and quality of life of nutritionists working in public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cross-sectional study in public hospitals with nutritionists working as civil servants and CLT. Psychosocial job stress was assessed through the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Quality of life was assessed through the WHOQOL-Bref. The outcome was modeled by means of multiple linear regression and adjusted by covariates. Job demands were inversely associated with quality of life in the physical and environment domains. Job control was directly associated with quality of life in the psychological domain. High strain, in comparison to low strain, was inversely associated with quality of life in the physical and psychological domains. Social support was directly associated with all fields of quality of life domains. Psychosocial job stress, as expressed by psychological job demands and job control, affects self-assessed quality of life, especially in the physical domain.