Background: There is a perceived lack of knowledge among nurses when it comes to identifying women suffering from intimate partner violence (IPV).

Aim: The aim of this study is to highlight nurses' experiences in the identification of women who are victims of IPV.

Method: The study is a literature overview containing both qualitative and quantitative research articles. Nine articles, four qualitative and five quantitative, were analyzed according to Friberg’s (2012b) method.

Results: This study shows two themes: flaws and strengths; with five sub themes; lack of education, lack of guidelines, stereotyping, confidence in the nurse-patient relationship and intuition.

Conclusion: Conclusions were that nurses are lacking education in how to identify a patient woman who is suffering from IPV. Lack of guidelines concerning IPV was also a problem for many nurses. Many nurses also were stereotyping women suffering from IPV. A confidence building nurse-patient relationship was seen by many nurses as something positive in the identification of IPV. Intuition was something that many nurses used in the identification of IPV.