Abstract: Pondok pesantren or the Islamic boarding school (IBS), as Islamic educational institutions have vital roles in the process of development of nationalism values. This study aims to reveal how the understanding of IBS against nationalism, what is the strategic role undertaken by the IBS in the imposition of nationalism values at Al-Hikmah and Miftahul Huda IBSs. Data collection was done through deep-intervewed with clerics, teachers, and students. After conducting data collection, data processing, data reduction, presentation, and conclusion, this study found that first, there was a strong understanding within the IBS environment toward the meaning of nationalism, which corresponds to the concepts and theories about nationalism.