Nursing students are taught to work in the prevention, promotion and rehabilitation of health and, during their graduation, they attend supervised internship subjects in basic and hospital care. In this research work the goal was to analyze the conceptions of health promotion of nursing students and their health promotion actions, performed in the hospital and primary care contexts during their last year of course. It is a qualitative, descriptive research, based on historical-cultural approach of Vigotski. The research was carried out with students of Bachelor and Licentiate in Nursing courses, at the Ribeirão Preto's Nursing School of the University of São Paulo, who attended supervised internship in primary and hospital care. The data were collected at the university, at the end of the two semesters of 2018, at a date and time previously scheduled at the Ribeirão Preto's Nursing School. Replies to open-ended questions about the health promotion theme and its actions were requested. The research counted on 62 students. The answers were typed in full and the thematic analysis was performed, outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006), which is divided into six steps: familiarization with the data, development of initial codes, search for themes, theme review, definition and naming themes and report writing. The material analysis resulted in five thematic units: 1) health promotion: a focus on disease; 2) health promotion: the expanded concept of health and the social determinants; 3) health promotion: focus on activities' participants; 4) health education and its conceptions; 5) facilities and difficulties for health promotion. The health promotion conceptions reported by the students varied between the disease centered biomedical model, the health as a complete physical, mental and social wellbeing model, the vision of social determinants of health, empowerment and life quality improvement. It is expected that the results of this study contribute to the education of nursing students about health promotion and that higher education institutions move towards the current health model, adequately preparing professionals for the workplace.