A decrease in the level of performance of Saudi nurses was reported by many studies carried out in Saudi Arabia. In-service training is seen as an integral part of an effective nursing service. The aim of this study was to identify the actual need of the Saudi nurses for in-service training depending on the opinion of their head nurses in some of the Ministry of Health Hospitals in Riyadh and to reveal the problems encountered during the conduction of the in-service training programmes. A self-administered questionnaire was used. Only 35.29% of air the Saudi nurses [n = 68] have attended in-service training. The criteria mostly used for selection of the nurses for the training was the inadequate performance. While the selection of the topics of the training was by preference of the hospital administrators regardless the nurses' need. Thirty-five percent of the head nurses [n = 60] complained about the English language level of the Saudi nurses and their lack of interest in the training. Also there were shortages in the nurses, trainers, nursing journals, incentives and feed back about the effect of the training. In the opinion of the head nurses there was a need of the Saudi nurses for in-services training in different areas of nursing. They indicated that training programmes should aim first to increase the awareness of the Saudi nurses about the importance of the training. Topics of the training should be related to the actual learners' need.