Difficult clinical situations in both hospitals and aged care facilities might lead to the use of physical restraint on older people. This literature reviewed aimed to identify the factors that influence nurses' use of physical restraint on people aged over 60 years. The prevalence of restraint use in aged care facilities was shown to be between 12% and 47%, with 7% to 17% for hospitalized patients. Database searches retrieved studies published after 1992 that highlighted nurses' use of physical restraint on older people in both acute and aged care settings. The analysis revealed two reasons for decisions to use physical restraint that were categorized as 'patient safety' and 'nurses' workload'. It is important for nurses to understand the nursing culture that perpetuates restraint use, and to consider patient-centred nursing as an instigator for change.