Background: The demands placed on nurses during a pandemic are far greater than those of any other professional group. Therefore, this review was conducted to explore the readiness of nurses to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This study is a systematic literature review. Articles were obtained from five databases including Scopus, Wiley Online Library, PubMed, ProQuest and GARUDA which are databases recommended by the ministry of education, culture, research, and technology in Indonesia. Article searches were also carried out through Gray Literature. This review follows the guidelines based on PRISMA 2020. All included articles published in English and Indonesian which are the result of research and were published in the last four years (2019-2022). Results: There are nine articles obtained from all databases, each of which analyzes the findings descriptively about the readiness of nurses in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: These findings indicate that internal and external factors can affect nurses' readiness to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, in increasing the competence of nurses, support is needed so that nurses' readiness in managing patients can be carried out optimally.