PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate nurses' perceptions on child abuse. METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, data were collected using a questionnaire and 217 nurses working in seven general hospitals were surveyed. The perception scale was divided into 4 subscales: physical, psychological, sexual abuse and neglect. RESULTS: Nurses who suspected child abuse accounted for 18.1% of the nurses, and 41.9% of the nurses stated that they did not to report suspected child abuse. The nurses reported receiving only a little education about the prevention of child abuse. The mean score for perception on child abuse was high (3.59±0.31). Recognition of sexual abuse ranked highest, psychological abuse ranked lowest. CONCLUSION: The findings from this research provide baseline information for understanding nurses' perceptions on child abuse, and may help in the development of appropriate education programs that will enable nurses to report child abuse.