In the current health situation, knowledge explosion and technological innovations necessitate the translation of research evidence into practice. Concerns about the limited use of research evidence in nursing practice continue to mount. Therefore, the study aimed at identifying surgical nurses' self-reported perceptions of barriers to research utilization and examining the association between perceived barriers and demographic characteristics. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care government hospital in Saudi Arabia on a convenience sample of 175 surgical nurses. Data were collected using the 29-item BARRIER Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. The response rate was 95.63%. Participants rated one-fourth of the BARRIER scale items as moderate or great barriers. Organizational factor was the highest perceived barriers (M=2.65, SD=0.55), followed by communication (M=2.48, SD=0.60), innovator (M=2.47, SD=0.56), and adopter (M=2.36, SD=0.56), respectively. Five of the top ten perceived moderate or great barriers were organizational. 'Lack of time to read research' was the most frequently cited (64.6%), followed by 'insufficient authority to change patient care procedures' (62.3%), and 'insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas' (61.1%). Only 8.57% of nurses had presented a research paper at a conference, although almost half of the group (48.57%) had attended a research-related program on the unit. There was no difference in the perception of barriers when compared with age, gender, professional qualification and the research characteristics of the nurses. If research utilization should increase in hospitals, the organization needs to implement policies that enable nurses to use the time for research and enhance their capabilities to exercise authority in using evidence in practice.