Objective: Investigating the strategies that nurses use to watch the hospitalized elderly. Method: this is an exploratory study of qualitative nature. The research was conducted at a University Hospital with fifteen clinical nurses. To facilitate the data collection was used the interview technique. The empirical material was analyzed qualitatively, using the Technique of Content Analysis. Results: From the qualitative analysis emerged three themes: reception and individualized nursing care and respect for the autonomy of elderly patients; respect to beliefs, values, the privacy and identity of the elderly patient, recovery of verbal and nonverbal communication to the patient and his family. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the commitment of nurses participating in the research regarding the humanized nursing care directed to hospitalized elderly.