Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and also has the highest number of maternal deaths. The Nigerian Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) provides data for over the past few decades about the very poor state of its maternal health based on assessment of key indicators including contraceptive prevalence rate, MMR, ANC coverage, skilled birth attendance etc. The WHO has numerous guidelines to help direct the improvement of the MMR. The objective of this review is to highlight the various indicators of these guidelines in order to assess the current state of maternal health in Nigeria emphasizing on the public health importance of improving its MMR in order to improve the health of the country as a whole.