Care for the emotional needs of hospitalized children has had the attention of nursing professionals in Brazil, although not as a general rule. The chance to play is known as a relief from suffering, especially in childhood, which justifies the importance of this theme. This study had the objective of analyzing Brazilian nurses' academic production on the use of toys during the attention to children in hospitals in strictu sensu Graduate programs. Data were taken from Portal CAPES, CEPEn, IBICT and papers' references. Of the 15 theses/dissertations found in the literature only 14 are available; they were analyzed and comprise the corpus of this study. It was found that toys have been used mostly in pre and postsurgery, by Nursing professors, with preschool and school age children, parents and nurses. All of the works reinforce the positive results of toys' use. We recommend to pediatric nurses the use of toys in all institutions where children need care.42389-95