Self-care is a healthcare measure that is performed by the patient themselves. Postoperative recovery is described as an energy-consuming process where the goal is to regain the independence that the patient had before the surgery. Previous research shows a positive impact on recovery by involving the patient in postoperative care with the help of self-care measures. The aim of this study was to examine patients' experiences of postoperative self-care. The method that was used is a literature study based on analysis of qualitative research. 10 Qualitative articles were selected to gain a deeper understanding of patients' experiences of performing postoperative self-care. The findings were presented by using three themes; To become an active participant, The challenges of self-care and The contact between nurse and patient. The result highlights the patient's experiences of taking responsibility and becoming independent as well as experiences of feeling insecure and the need for support. The patients also experienced a lack of information to perform self-care and found it difficult to perform self-care when they didn’t know where to turn when complications occurred. In order for self-care to free up resources and develop the quality of health care, the patient's need for continuity needs to be prioritized by assigning a contact nurse to each patient who performs postoperative self-care. In order to reduce the uncertainty that the patients experienced, the nurse needs to focus on self-care education. It is important to plan and adapt the education based on the patient’s individual needs by offering several teaching methods.