This paper focuses on nursing research and its management in Britain, examining the roles of nurse managers, researchers, clinicians and educationalists in this context. The background to commissioning health research within the Department of Health (formerly Department of Health and Social Security) is outlined together with the main milestones in NHS based research from the 1970s until the present time. Emphasis is returned to nursing research through a systematic literature search of the most popular British nursing journals, over 18 months (Nursing Times, Nursing Standard, Senior Nurse and lournal of Advanced Nursing), exploring various aspects of research management. Comparative material is drawn from the American nursing journals, the lournal of Nursing Administration and Nursing Management. The article is concluded with reference to challenges presented in Research for Health (The Strategy for Research and Development in the NHS 1991) and in the forthcoming Strategy for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Research. Emphasis is placed on strengthened collaboration between nurse managers, researchers, clinicians and educationists, in order to fulfil the aims established for research in all sectors of the NHS and, particularly, within nursing research.