The adoption of evidence-based nursing care in knee and hip arthroplasty is very important in providing quality care, increasing patient satisfaction and reducing the cost of care. Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols, which aim to find the best with multiple quality researches on the basis of evidence-based care, have recently been on the agenda. Orthopaedic nurses should also provide care in line with current evidence. Clinical guidelines in orthopaedic surgery aim to establish treatment recommendations based on the best available evidence and to improve the efficiency, quality and outcomes of patient care. It should be remembered that surgical nurses play a key role in the success of ERAS implementation and are an important part of the team in providing care to patients by providing education, perioperative care, postoperative assessment and cost control. Orthopaedic nurses are competent and empowered to provide care by adopting a holistic approach encompassing preoperative counselling, patient optimisation, minimally invasive intraoperative procedures, postoperative analgesia management and early mobilisation. ERAS is enabling a shift towards a more personalised, streamlined and cost-efficient model of care. This review describes in detail the scope and future of ERAS in orthopaedics.