Nature-based tourism has recently been the tourism industry's focus, and nature has become a tourist attraction worldwide. The increased activities and participation in this type of tourism have escalated the growth of research within the area. Malaysia's current definition of naturebased tourism is vague, narrow, and fragmented. As nature-based tourism is an essential component of the country's tourism industry, it is necessary to redefine nature-based tourism since its features vary from one destination to another. Hence, this paper proposes to compile and categorise nature-based tourism in Malaysia. The objective was achieved through a content analysis of the different definitions used in selected developed and developing economies that were available in the published literature. This study identified and synthesized 92 articles from 1979 to 2022 using an extensive literature search on nature-based tourism of research interest. With a clear insight into what nature-based tourism should ideally encompass, the findings from the study should assist stakeholders in re-positioning nature-based tourism as a critical niche industry and boosting domestic tourism.