Purpose: Competency-based curriculum has attracted many nursing institutions" attention, pursuing the enhancement of competency and the quality of education. The goal of this study was to not merely scrutinize the nomenclature of competency and competency model as a concept of pedagogy as well as nursing science, but also form a well understanding of development process for nursing competency-based curriculum and nursing competency modeling. Methods: A comprehensive review on related literatures was conducted in each section of 1) competency-based curriculum, 2) competency and competency model, and 3) contents of competency. Results: The nomenclature of competency including nursing competencies, competency modeling and competency-based curriculum were clarified and summarized. Through analyzing and reviewing former studies related to competency, desirable nursing competency modeling and nursing competency-based curriculum were proposed and described. Conclusion: Learner-centered curriculum should be established based on nursing education that emphasizes intellectual skills acquisition and the enhancement of future-oriented professionalism. Competency modeling should reflect the fact that teaching-learning strategies should focus on the integration of nursing theories and clinical practices. Nursing competency modeling is essential in order to develop a genuine competency-based curriculum while in-depth practical research should be followed so that nursing theories and clinical practices work together in a coordinated fashion.