Purpose: The purpose of this research was to describe experiences of nursing home health personnel in using physical restraints. Methods: Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews and focus group interviews with 17 participants from January to May, 2011. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed by the content analysis method. Results: Seven main categories were conceptualized: 'health personnel applying physical restraints in unavoidable circumstances', 'getting consent of client's family while minimizing the repulsion', 'deliberate decision making process', 'doing right but feeling sympathy and mental anguish', 'ways of coping that minimize using restraints', 'trying to use suitable restraints for elders', 'absence of standardized protocol'. Conclusion: Study results show that health personnel regard physical restraints as an undesirable method but the best way in unavoidable circumstances. Further, because there is no standardized protocol for physical restraints in nursing homes, there are differences in the decision making process and standards among facilities according to role, educational background and work experience of nursing personnel. Results suggest the necessity of quality assurance in standards and protocols for physical restraints in nursing homes, and the importance of developing protocols for restraints and including appraisal standards for restraints in nursing home quality evaluation criteria.