Background: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects rectum and colon, and goes in periods of remission and relapse. 

Aim: The aim of the study was to describe patients’ experiences of living with ulcerative colitis.

Method: The method was a literature study based on ten qualitative articles found from the databases Cinahl and PubMed. The articles were analyzed using a five- step method. 

Results: First theme that emerged was ”the changed life and body” with the subthemes ”lack of control over the body” and ”adaptions to the new life situation”. The second theme was ”an understanding of the disease” with the subthemes ”the need for information” and ”the importance of support”. 

Conclusion: The conclusion of the study is that patients’ experiences a lack of information about how the disease will look like and how it will come and affect daily life. It came to the conclusion that social support and increased knowledge is an important factor. Therefore, nursing can be of great importance here in presenting the information about the disease.