  The radial basis function (RBF) approach is applied in predicting nuclear
masses for 8 widely used nuclear mass models, ranging from
macroscopic-microscopic to microscopic types. A significantly improved accuracy
in computing nuclear masses is obtained, and the corresponding rms deviations
with respect to the known masses is reduced by up to 78%. Moreover, strong
correlations are found between a target nucleus and the reference nuclei within
about three unit in distance, which play critical roles in improving nuclear
mass predictions. Based on the latest Weizs\"{a}cker-Skyrme mass model, the RBF
approach can achieve an accuracy comparable with the extrapolation method used
in atomic mass evaluation. In addition, the necessity of new high-precision
experimental data to improve the mass predictions with the RBF approach is
emphasized as well.
