This study was done to analyze the trend of theory application in articles published in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration (JKANA) over the last 10 years. Methods: Four hundred and eighty-five articles were reviewed to determine the scope of theory-applied research. General characteristics, study design and keywords classification by nursing meta-paradigm were analyzed using established analysis framework. Results: Twenty-four articles (4.9%) were identified as theory-applied research publications. More than half of the articles (54.2%) stated that a theoretical framework was used; the number of theories used in the 24 articles was 27 including nine nursing theories. The majority of the studies were conducted in hospital settings. In the keyword classification by nursing meta-paradigm, 28 environment-related keywords were identified but only 7 keywords were related to health. Conclusion: The results show that theory application in Korean nursing administration research is very limited. It is necessary to create a positive educational environment for graduate students to learn about nursing theories as well as theories from other disciplines. In addition, different levels of nursing theories should be continuously developed in the field of nursing administration.