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The present study was carried out in 1990 with the objective of measuring and analyzing the turnover of nursing personnel in nine general hospitals located in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil. The population under study consisted of nurses, nursing assistants, nursing technicians, and nursing attendants who started work or left their jobs between 1 January and 31 December 1990. Employment status for these workers was checked monthly based on information from the human resources department of each hospital. Two types of turnover indices were calculated: the liquid rate of substitution and the median length of service of the departing workers. Results showed that the number of nursing personnel employed in Ribeirão Preto increased in 1990. However, results also revealed a high turnover rate, especially for philanthropic and private institutions, with liquid substitution rates of 32% and 39% per year and median lengths of service of 8 months and 12 months, respectively. These circumstances could lead to higher costs and reduced productivity. The only public hospital in the study presented the lowest level of turnover (liquid substitution rate of 6% and median length of service of 42 months). Nurses and attendants had the highest substitution rates and thus were the least stable categories.