Background: The nursing literature suggests there are gaps in our knowledge about nurse caring behaviours. In particular there is incongruence between nurses' and patients' views of caring, a lack of emphasis on caregiving in aged care, and there are few validated tools available that measure caring behaviour. Aims: This study aimed to identify the dimensions of nurse caring behaviours by identifying and comparing the responses of registered nurses (RNs), assistant nurses (ANs) and older residents to the Caring Behaviour Inventory (CBI). Methods: Data were collected using the CBI from RNs (n=7), ANs (n=19) and residents (n=31). Results: Although there were differences between the three participating groups there were no statistically significant differences between their perceptions of nurse caregiving behaviour. The study raises some interesting questions in relation to disempowerment and the possibility that residents were not adequately able to discriminate between the different levels on the CBI scale.