This study aimed at checking the nursing knowledge produced about adolescence in Brazil from 1979 to 2000. The document-based research listed abstracts of dissertations and theses contained on the CD-ROM of the Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Enfermagem (CEPEN), the topics of which were adolescence/adolescent. The results, discussed in accordance with the concepts of Meleis (1997) and the relevant literature, show 46 works, 37 of them dissertations, defended in the Southeast Region (32), developed mostly between 1995 and 1999. The theoretical and methodological tendencies showed prevalence of clinical studies (22) related to the adolescent, of a qualitative nature (34). We concluded that there is a need for studies that include the adolescent in his/her family and community context. Also, greater incentive is necessary for the development of theses in poorer regions of the country.