Objective:

identify, from bibliographic and journal sources, what has been written and published by the nursing staff in Mexico, in the period from 1985 to 2017.

Methods:

Documentary research, bibliographic and journal sources. Selection criteria: main authorship by Mexican nurses, thematic with a historical approach to nursing. A certificate was built with four indicators. Analysis based on descriptive statistics and extraction of representative passages.

Results:

Five lines of accentuation were identified, history of: institutions and the evolution of the nursing profession, life of nurses, teaching of care and care from epistemology. The texts constitute starting points for the construction of the theory of nursing knowledge and care.

Conclusions:

In recent years, an increase in the study of history is projected, although, compared to other disciplinary areas of nursing, history seems to be at a clear disadvantage.