Purpose: Compliance in kidney transplant recipients is critical for a positive prognosis. Especially compliance with medications after kidney transplantation is a major health care issue with implications for graft rejection and graft loss. But the definition of compliance in transplantation varies among centers. The purpose of this study was to clarify the concept of compliance in kidney transplant recipients. Methods: A literature search was conducted using RISS, MEDLINE, CINAHL. The concept analysis was guided by the methodology posited by Walker and Avant. Results: In this study, we found the attributes of the concept: ‘compliance with immunosuppressive medication’, ‘compliance with follow-up’, ‘compliance with early detection of graft rejection and complication’, and ‘compliance with prevention of complication’. The antecedents of ‘compliance in kidney transplant recipients’ included ‘having a kidney transplant surgery’ and ‘normal function of transplanted kidney’. The consequences of ‘compliance in kidney transplant recipients’ included ‘affecting the function of the transplanted kidney’ and ‘affecting the health of kidney transplant recipients. Conclusion: This study may contribute to the development of tools for measuring compliance in kidney transplant recipients, as well as benefit nursing interventions research to increase compliance in kidney transplant recipients.