Empathy is defined as the ability of recognition and understanding of other people’s emotions, meaning the ability of evaluating a situation from other person’s perspective. It consists of two components: affective and cognitive. Its development starts in early childhood and is affected by numerous factors. With the development of neuroscience many areas of the brain have been discovered and are still being researched which are directly or indirectly connected with empathy. Empathy is one of the most important traits of a nurse because it enables formation of the mutual feeling of trust, easier gathering of information from a patient while it also increases the quality of nursing care and the patients’ outcomes. Additionally, it is crucial in the development of a therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the patient. Therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is such into which the nurse invests herself in – with her knowledge, communication skills and traits like empathy, in order to achieve the desired effect on the patient. That relationship is considered fundamental in nursing care and is achieved through therapeutic communication. It is characterised by the existence of purpose and the patient centered goal while also having a significant impact on the outcome of the process of professional care. The first to describe the therapeutic relationship in nursing was Peplau in her Theory of Interpersonal Relations. It is described through four stages: orientation, identification, exploitation and resolution. There are a few requirements that the nurse has to fulfil in order for the therapeutic relationship to be established. On the other side, there are barriers such as stereotypes and crossing of professional boundaries that prevent the development of quality and efficient therapeutic relationship, due to these possible negative consequences the nurse has to be aware of the boundaries set. For that very reason, it is important that the nurse is self-aware, meaning having conscious knowledge of her abilities, preferences, flaws and virtues. In Croatia, it is insufficiently written about the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship so its systematic implementation is being brought into question. It is also necessary, in theory and practice, to place greater emphasis on the therapeutic relationship so that it can be implemented systematically, regarding all patients.