BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The hospital environment is considered to be unhealthy, and, moreover, the work performed by nursing professionals presents several risk factors for the development of pain. In this sense, the present study aims to analyze the musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing team and to correlate with the level of physical activity, anthropometric characteristics and the professional profile at the University Hospital in Petrolina, Pernambuco. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with 143 nursing professionals, of which 122 were female (37±7 years) and 21 were male (33±6 years). The individuals answered the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. RESULTS: Pain was reported in 77 volunteers, which corresponds to 53.8% of the sample. In 35 (24.4%) volunteers there was the presence of musculoskeletal disorders in more than one body segment. Regarding pain distribution by body segment, the higher prevalence's were observed in the lumbar region and the knees, both with 17.4%. In addition, there were associations between being male and pain in the elbows (PR=5.