Objective During their lifetime, up to 31% of all patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) will attempt suicide. MDD is a heterogeneous disorder and different groups of patients have different profiles of depressive symptoms. It is possible that some of these symptoms are more and some less associated with suicide risk. Some of the symptoms of MDD are available to nursing interventions, and nurses are able to be the first to recognize the configuration of depressive symptoms associated with a higher risk of suicide. Therefore, this study examined the association of suicidality with individual symptoms of MDD. Materials and methods A unicentric, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department for Psychiatry of the University Hospital Center Sestre milosrdnice in Zagreb in the period from April to June 2021. Each participant signed an informed consent form prior to any research procedure. The study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of the World Health Organization, as modified in 2013. The identity of the participants was concealed by numerical codes. Signed documents of informed consent containing personal data and completed instruments for collecting anonymous data were kept separate. The outcome was a result on Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale. The independent variable was the individual symptoms of MDD as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Results The median age of the participants was 53 (interquartile range 48-59) years, and 47 (65,3%) participants were women. Result of Beck Suicidal Ideation scale was statistically significantly associated with all items of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and with congitive and somatic dimension of MDD. However, after the inclusion of both dimensions into the analysis, association of suicidal ideation with somatic dimension was no longer statistically significant. For the association of MDD with suicidal ideation the responsibility is primarily on cognitive dimension. Conclusion Patients diagnosed with MDD and more severe cognitive symptoms have an increased risk of suicide. The nurse in daily work should pay special attention to patients with such a profile of MDD symptoms.