Nakhlestan Rural District (Persian: دهستان نخلستان) is in the Central District of Kahnuj County, Kerman province, Iran. Its capital is the village of Zeh.

At the National Census of 2006, its population was 21,602 in 4,571 households. There were 14,339 inhabitants in 3,587 households at the following census of 2011. At the most recent census of 2016, the population of the rural district was 16,262 in 4,468 households. The most populous of its 59 villages was Golestan, with 1,221 people.