A number of terminologies exist that represent concepts of relevance to nurses, although none of these is in use by Australian nurses. Without consensus, nursing language and definitions incorporated in clinical information systems now being implemented will continue to vary considerably. The result will be an inability to compare nursing practice, or to aggregate data for research purposes, or to collect national statistical data to demonstrate the significance of nurses' contributions to health care. This article provides an international historical overview of nursing terminology developments relative to what is happening in Australia, brief reviews of the many available nursing terminologies, an update of this work relative to activities being undertaken towards the development and adoption of standards, and a discussion about desirable future research and development activities.