This paper reviews the theoretical approaches which can be conducive to understanding the concept of stress and stress management for health promotion. 1. The theoretical approach to understanding the concept of stress is manly physiological in nature which focuses on the fight-flight response. It is also founded on psychosocial factors which include life events and personality variables. Other critical variables are, transactional approach which based on cognitive apprasal and coping style, and the psychoneuro-immunology which of recent emerging interest. 2. Although various stress management strategies are introduced, they only revealed the effects of technique and lacked a rational basis for applying the technique. 3. Traditional relaxation training was merely based on relaxation response which focused on decreasing the physiological arousal. 4. The stress model which has recently emerged is based on the transactional model. The transactional model applies a cognitive-behavioral approach which focuses on cognitive appraisal and coping style. 5. The synthesis of the transactional model and psycho-immunology explains the stress-desease relationship and provides justification for the use of a multidimensional approach for stress management which addresses all variables of the stress process. In summary the relationships among life events, personality variables, cognitive appraisal processes, physiological arousal, coping style, and immune functioning are complex relationships which influence each other. Therefore I suggest that currently the need of a multidimensional approach exist. All aspect of stress relationships should be addressed when planning a stress management program. In order to have an effective stress management approach, all nurses need a comprehensive under standing that considers stress process and stress-illness relationship, and the applies an effective integrative stress management approach which includes all variables related to stress.