BACKGROUND: Implementing family-centered care (FCC) presents challenges to parental-healthcare provider partnership and collaboration in newborn care in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). AIMS: To explore NICU nurses' perceptions of FCC (respect, collaboration, and support) during the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare these between nurses working in secondary and tertiary/higher care settings. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional exploratory online survey design study was conducted to identify Thai NICU nurses' perceptions. The online survey of the Perceptions of Family-Centered Care-Staff (PFCC-S) was distributed via a Web page and professional networks between July and September 2022. RESULTS: Of the 187 survey respondents, most NICU nurses worked in the NICU for less than 16 years and were employed in tertiary care/higher care settings in southern Thailand. There was a significant difference in perceptions of support subscale between NICU nurses in secondary (mean: 3.32, SD ± 0.53) and tertiary/higher care settings (mean: 3.17, SD ± 0.46) (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Despite the challenges of the visitation restriction of COVID-19 in Thailand, nurses' perceptions of the value of FCC were maintained. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Further research is recommended to investigate how FCC can be implemented where there is a lack of material and infrastructure resources and staff shortage.