Objective: To identify public health nurses' home visiting skills required for mental health activities. Method: A self-administered anonymous survey was conducted with public health nurses specializing in mental health in all prefectures. The survey consisted of questions about the importance and acquisition of basic attributes and 39 home visiting skills. Home visiting skills were evaluated on a four-point scale. Results: Out of 298 valid responses, 86.6-100.0% agreed that home visiting skills are important. A factor analysis identified six factors in home visiting “quot;determining needs”, “understanding family relationships”, “managing the home visiting”, “obtaining information on healthcare and welfare”, “improving the relationship with the patient”, and “responding to emergencies”, along with 36 additional items. A multiple comparison of the acquisition points of the six factors with six groups of differing lengths of experience in the mental health services indicated that the acquisition points by factor increase as experience levels improve. Conclusion: It is suggested that these 36 items identified within the home visiting skills are the skills required by public health nurses' for mental health activities.