For efficient and effective nuclear regulation, regulatory organizations must establish consistent and rigorous regulatory positions on safety matters. These positions should be based on high technical expertise and relevant ordinances, standards, and guidelines reflecting policy changes governing nuclear regulations. The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, a regulatory expert organization in Korea, has developed regulatory requirements, guidelines and analytical tools that provide regulatory technical bases for ensuring nuclear safety. The nuclear regulatory research also contributes to regulatory decision making by providing resolution for current and future safety issues. In this article, we introduce nuclear regulatory research and its main achievements in the past 10 years. Also, suggested here are future directions of nuclear regulatory research.