Background: In 2019 the prevalence of mental illness was 1 in 8 people, with anxiety and depression being the most common mental illness. Stigmatization of mental illness causes these individuals not to seek care and increases the risk of suicide and violence. Mental illness increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, suicide, and long-term sick leave.

Aim: The aim is to investigate nurse’s challenges of meeting patients with mental illness in emergency care.

Method: The study design is a literature review with a qualitative approach. This study is based on 13 scientific articles from the databases CINAHL and PubMed. The data analyses are based on qualitative content analysis.

Result: Category: “Psychosocial challenges” was divided into sub-categories “Lack of knowledge”, “Stigmatization”, “Communication barriers”. Category “Environmental challenges” was divided into the sub-categories “Lack of knowledge”, “Stigmatization”, “Communication barriers”, “Workingenvironment”, “Limited time” and “A threatened security”.

Conclusion: The study showed that the nurse's challenges consisted of psychosocial challenges and environmental challenges. The importance of knowledge and training in mental illness was emphasized to provide good care. A stressful environment in the emergency room presents a challenge in the care of patients with mental illness.