Background: Approximately one billion children around the world are exposed to violence every year. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that all sorts of violence and neglect is prohibited. All healthcare professionals in Sweden have an obligation to report suspected cases of child maltreatment to social service authorities. Children are often introduced to healthcare in early age, therefore nurses have an important role in safeguarding children and identifying families where suspicion of child maltreatment appears.

Aim: The aim for this study was to illuminate nurses´ experiences of meeting children exposed to maltreatment.

Method: A literature study based on analysis of qualitative studies. Eleven studies were analysed using Friberg´s five- step analysis.

Results: The analysed studies resulted in three themes; Challenges in the meeting, showed that nurses´ experienced personal and work-related obstacles. Strength in the meeting, described nurses´ experiences of strengthening factors, Nurses´ professional development, described the need for support and education.

Conclusion: The nurses believed that family- and child-centered approach was important to build relations with the family. However, it was also shown that nurses´ experienced complex emotions. This could affect their abilities to demonstrate professional values, to write reportsof concern and to cooperate with authorities. Colleagues were identified as a key factor of support. There was a need for more support and education to reach professional development. This implicates that nurses experiences challenges, strengths and needs when meeting children exposed to maltreatment.