Objectives: To analyze the scientific literature of the major stressors and coping strategies used by nurses in the hospital. Methodology: Integrative review held in July 2013 in LILACS, Embase, and SciELO data bases. 15 publications that met the inclusion criteria were found. Discussion: stress is natural and the human condition can be caused by several factors that are directly or indirectly linked to the hospital, therefore coping strategies are required. Conclusions: the study found that there is no a single strategy to be effective and those strategies should be associated among them in order to be effective in coping with stress.