Objective: It has been shown that specific competence is necessary for preventing and managing conflicts in healthcaresettings. The aim of this descriptive and correlation study was to investigate and compare the self-reported conflict managementcompetence (CMC) of nursing students who were on the point of graduating (NSPGs), and the CMC of registered nurses (RNs)with professional experience.Methods: The data collection, which consisted of soliciting answers to items measuring CMC in the Nurse ProfessionalCompetence (NPC) Scale, was performed as a purposive selection of 11 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Sweden. ThreeCMC items from the NPC Scale were answered by a total of 569 nursing students who were on the point of graduating and 227RN registered nurses with professional experience.Results: No significant differences between NSPGs and RNs were found, and both groups showed a similar score pattern, withthe lowest score for the item: “How do you perceive your ability to develop the group and strengthen competence in conflictmanagement and problem-solving, based on knowledge of group dynamics?”. RNs with long professional experience (>24months) rated their overall CMC as significantly better than RNs with short (<24 months) professional experience did (p = .05).NSPGs who had experience of international studies during their nursing education reported higher CMC, compared with thosewho did not have this experience (p = .03). RNs who reported a high degree of utilisation of CMC during the previous monthscored higher regarding self-reported overall CMC (p < .0001).Conclusions: Experience of international studies during nursing education, or long professional experience, resulted in higherself-reported CMC. Hence, the CMC items in the NPC Scale can be suitable for identifying self-reported conflict managementcompetence among NSPGs and RNs.