PurposeSafety activities have been initiated in healthcare organizations in Taiwan, but little is known about the performance and trends of safety culture on a timely basis. This study aims to comprehensively review the articles that have conducted two worldwide patient safety culture instruments (HSPSC and SAQ) in Taiwan to provide the extent of existing knowledge about healthcare professionals' perception related to patient safety.Design/methodology/approachThe Web of Science, Medline (Pubmed) and Embas were used as the database to search papers related to the patient safety culture in Taiwan from 2008 to June 30, 2019.FindingsTwenty-four relative articles in total were found and further investigations confirmed that the regular assessment of patient safety culture among hospital staff is essentially important for healthcare organizations to reduce the rates of medical errors and malpractice. Moreover, the elements influencing patient safety culture may vary due to the difference in job positions, age, experience in organization and cultural settings.Research limitations/implicationsThe summary of findings enables healthcare administrators and practitioners to understand key components of patient safety culture for continuous improvement in medical quality.Originality/valueAssessing the safety culture in healthcare organizations is a foundation to achieve excellent medical quality and service. The implications of this study could be useful for hospitals to establish a safer environment for patients.