This paper describes findings from a systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of school nurses in promoting the health of school children. The paper gives a brief account of the background to the study and the search strategy adopted. Some key findings are presented and discussed. The brief for the review was to seek evidence of effectiveness in the practice of school nurses. The results of the review were disappointing, in that little research of acceptable quality was found and little could be said about effectiveness. The result is therefore a more diffuse review that gives a summary of descriptive research and current views and opinions, although it does also present some pointers for future research. The study was funded by Health Promotion Wales.