Objective: To identify discourses that shape the development of nursing as a professional discipline. Method: Integrative review carried out in indexed and high-impact databases, in Spanish, English and Portuguese, using the descriptors Address, Discourse, Speech, Nursing. Results: 21 texts were selected for this review. Most of the discourse analysis in nursing has been carried out from the Anglo-Saxon context and following the theoretical postulates of Michel Foucault. There is evidence of discourses that are detrimental to the nursing profession and others that are decisive for its development. Conclusion: From the first contributions on nursing discourses, gender issues, biomedical training, the implementation of positivism in nursing knowledge, and the lack of social recognition of the profession are evident as central and deep-rooted.