Objective To investigate the impact of individualized rehabilitation nursing on the quality of life of patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods 171 sepsis patients admitted to the Emergency ICU of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University from January 2023 to December 2024 were selected as research subjects. 83 patients admitted from January 2023 to December 2023 were included in the control group, receiving routine nursing care patients, while 88 patients admitted from January 2024 to December 2024 were included in the observation group receiving individualized rehabilitation nursing. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-II (APACHE- II) score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, quality of life (SF-36) score, clinical frailty scale (CFS) score, and chinese perceived stress scale (CPSS) score were compared between the two groups before and after nursing intervention. Results After nursing intervention, the observation group showed significantly lower APACHE-II score (14.08±2.21 vs 16.15±1.96) and SOFA score (5.15±0.71 vs 6.74±0.92) compared to the control group (P<0.05). The SF-36 dimensions (role function, cognitive function, physical function, emotional function, and social function) scores in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The CFS score (3.80±0.51 vs 4.52±0.62) and CPSS score (50.28±6.96 vs 57.34±7.95) in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Both groups showed significant improvements in all indicators after intervention compared to before intervention (P<0.05), with the observation group showing greater improvement: APACHE-II score decreased by 4.44 points, SOFA score decreased by 3.18 points, SF-36 dimensions scores increased by an average of 15.80 points, CFS score decreased by 3.45 points, and CPSS score decreased by 14.51 points. Conclusion Individualized rehabilitation nursing can effectively improve clinical symptoms and organ function in ICU patients with sepsis, enhance patients’ quality of life, and reduce clinical frailty and psychological stress, making it worthy of clinical promotion and application.