Introduction: The subject of this paper is RA, a disease that belongs to the most common rheumatic diseases. The aim of the paper is to present the basic aspect of the disease and the role of the nurse in the treatment of the disease. Procedure: Books and articles from medicine in the field of rheumatology were used in the preparation of the paper. The literature used in the preparation of the paper was published in the period 1995-2018. Articles were searched in Croatian and English, on domestic and foreign portals. The key terms during the search were: rheumatoid arthritis, the role of the nurse in the treatment of RA, nursing diagnosis in RA, nursing intervention in RA, etc. Overview: RA is one of the rheumatic diseases that has the greatest impact on the deterioration in quality of life and it is characterized by multiple comorbidities. It has been found that nurses play a key role in the care of patients with RA. This role is manifested through nursing diagnosis, setting goals and a nursing care plan, nursing intervention, and evaluation. Conclusion: Given the fact that medical knowledge about RA is developing progressively, the fundamental conclusion is the importance of continuous education of all stakeholders involved in the process of diagnosis and treatment of RA. This also includes educating nurses, especially for the reason that nurses work closely with other people in the treatment process, such as rheumatologists, physical therapists, psychologists, surgeons, and ultimately the family and the patient himself.