Chest drains are a widespread intervention for patients admitted to acute respiratory or cardiothoracic surgery care areas. These are either inserted intraoperatively or as part of the conservative management of a respiratory illness or thoracic injury. Anecdotally there appears to be a lack of consensus among nurses on the major principles of chest drain management. Many decisions tend to be based on personal factors rather than sound clinical evidence. This inconsistency of treatment regimes, together with the lack of evidence-based nursing care, creates a general uncertainty regarding the care of patients with chest drains. This study aimed to identify the nurses' levels of knowledge with regard to chest drain management and identify and to ascertain how nurses keep informed about the developments related to the care of patients with chest drains. The data were collected using survey method. The results of the study revealed deficits in knowledge in a selected group of nurses and a paucity of resources. Nurse managers are encouraged to identify educational needs in this area, improve resources and the delivery of in service and web-based education and to encourage nurses to reflect upon their own knowledge deficits through portfolio use and ongoing professional development. © 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.