Background and purpose: Faculty are the cornerstone of academic medicine and are the important assets for any institution offering higher education. The recruitment and retention of capable faculty are essential to maintain and improve the quality of education and research performance of universities.The purpose of the present study is to discover the views, experiences, and attitudes of faculty to identify the reasons for the attrition and the retention of faculty. Methods: Using the qualitative content analysis, a total of 20 transferred faculty or those who requested to be transferred participated in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews in face to face and by telephone. To measure the trustworthiness of the data, we used the four components of Credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability proposed by Lincoln and Guba. Results: The findings were divided into 3 categories and 14 sub-categories: the first category was the retention enforcers, including 4 sub-categories of facilitated communication, distance, gaining experience, and support of authorities; the second category was the retention threats, including 6 subcategories of social infrastructures, individual dimension, occupational dimension, economic dimension, sense of respect, and executive management dimension; and the third category was the retention strategies, including 4 sub-categories of the process of recruiting and promotion, connecting with major universities, facilitating scientific growth, and fulfilling the future needs. Conclusion: Several factors play role in the retention of faculties in medical schools. Authorities can create a more positive environment by devising a suitable reward system, supporting academic activities, and increasing the level of practical autonomy of faculty, to develop a sense of belonging among the workforce, and reduce the intention to transfer of their human resources.