The purpose of this article is to present the clinical nursing guideline we developed to help nurses to identify and intervene in child maltreatment, defined as physical and psychological abuse and neglect. The guideline is based on a review of 77 research articles and review and discussion papers searched systematically from databases. According to this review, child maltreatment is associated with risk factors which may manifest themselves in the child, the parents or in the whole family. Knowledge and assessment of these risk factors are of the utmost importance. Particular attention needs to be paid to the accumulation of risks in the family. Physical and other signs caused by maltreatment are central to the identification of maltreatment. Important opportunities for identification and intervention are home visits to families with children, and during clinic visits, with questions and discussion about child‐rearing practices, the parents' or carers' relationship and violence which might be present in family life. ‘Particular attention needs to be paid to the accumulation of risks in the family’ The guideline summarises the most compelling multidisciplinary research evidence in order to make recommendations which guide nurses and other professionals on providing care to families with children and in developing identification and intervention practices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages The guideline is based on a systematic review which presents research evidence for developing identification and intervention practices concerning child maltreatment.Important issues are the occurrence of risk factors, signs of maltreatment in a child and methods of identification and intervention.Next steps are implementing the knowledge into multiprofessional practice and evaluating its usefulness by further research.