A questionnaire was sent to all nurses working in Accident and Emergency departments in Hong Kong, to survey their attitudes, beliefs and practice in the handling of wife battering cases presenting to the Emergency department. Questions about incidence, epidemiology, rationale for intervention and effects on children of abused women were included. Traditional cultural beliefs were found to be an important factor influencing nurses' attitude in this issue. Nurses on the whole were not well prepared to handle victims of domestic violence. The importance of training and nurse protocol for the handling of these patients was discussed.