Quantitative study aimed to identify the enterprising tendency of nurses at a university hospital and to relate them with age, length of work in the hospital and conclusion of the nursing course. This cross-sectional quantitative study was developed in 2010. All 60 nurses from the hospital answered the questionnaire General measure of Enterprising Tendency, which contains five categories. In the creativity category one nurse obtained two points; in need for achievement one nurse totaled 12 points; one nurse obtained two points; in motivation four nurses achieved higher scores; in taking calculated risks, the highest score was 10 points; in autonomy, nine nurses obtained one point each. Individuals aged between 27 and 33 years showed higher enterprising tendencies. Reduced enterprising tendencies were found for nurses aged between 43 and 56 years, graduated more than 17 years ago and with a greater length of work. Actions are necessary to encourage nurses in the age range of enterprising tendency decline and those who graduated longer ago and who have worked for a longer period of time in the hospital. Descriptors:Nursing. Nursing staff, hospital. Organizational innovation. RESUMO Estudo quantitativo que objetivou identificar tendências empreendedoras dos enfermeiros de um hospital universitário e relacioná-las com idade, tempo de trabalho e conclusão do curso de enfermagem. Estudo quantitativo, transversal contemporâneo realizado em 2010. Todos os 60 enfermeiros responderam ao questionário "Tendência Empreendedora Geral