Background: Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest global health problems and affects both the patient's perception of life and quality of life. There are several measures the patient can take to influence and improve his or her life situation, both to prevent and when illness has occurred. Lifestyle plays a crucial role in health, methods for motivating lifestyle changes are therefore important for the nursing. Motivational interviewing (MI) can help patients understand the effect on lifestyle and with this make lifestyle changes that improves health. Aim: Examine the effect of motivational interviewing in nursing with a focus on lifestyle change and quality of life associated with cardiovascular disease. Method: A systematic review, including ten randomised controlled trials. Findings: From the analyzed data, the following six main themes emerged: Increased physical activity, weight loss, reduced smoking, increased self-care, experience quality of life and the time of treatment. These subjects showed that MI can be an effective way to succeed in lifestyle changes and increase self-care and quality of life. Conclusion: From the analyzed data material, the following six main themes emerged: Increased physical activity, weight loss, reduced smoking, increased self-care, perceived quality of life and the importance of treatment time. These themes showed that MI can be an effective method for successfully implementing lifestyle changes and increasing self-care responsibility and quality of life.