PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate nurses' knowledge of the law, consciousness, and will to practice and the relationships among factors affecting the will to practice. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression. RESULTS: Most respondents were women (93.9%) and 75.6% of them had received basic education on law. The average score on knowledge of the law was 11.83±3.07 for general law and 10.42±3.32 for nursing law. The average score on consciousness of law and will to practice was 2.50±0.31 and 4.32±0.58, respectively. Differences were observed in knowledge of the law in terms of having taken a refresher course(F=5.87, p=.003); in consciousness of the law in terms of knowledge of the law (F=6.61, p<.002); and in will to practice according to age (F=7.30, p=.007) and educational level (F=13.08, p<.001). Factors influencing will to practice included behavioral and cognitive consciousness, general knowledge of law, and education. These factors explained 24% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Nurses knowledge and consciousness regarding law was relatively lower than their will to practice. Systematic law education for nurses and repetitive research are recommended to prevent nursing malpractice.