Older people may be unable to maintain adequate hydration due to decreased fluid intake and increased fluid loss. Residents in care home settings are particularly vulnerable and at an increased risk of dehydration. This is associated with poor outcomes and can lead to severe consequences. Local data on hydration practices within residential care homes is scarce. We therefore sought out to explore evidence on hydration practices, with a view to inform local practice and identify any gaps for future research. A scoping review was conducted and guided by the methodological framework of Arksey and OMalley (2005). A search of ten databases: CINAHL, ProQuest: Health Research Premium Collection, SAGE Premier, Cochrane Library, Springer Journals, WILEY Interscience, BioMed Central, Science Direct Freedom Collection, PubMed (Medline), and Northumbria University Library Search, yielded 36,692 citations, of which 11 papers were selected. Articles from 2015, available in full-text and English language, conducted in Europe and published in peer-reviewed journals, were included in the review. The final 11 papers were subjected to data charting, followed by qualitative thematic analysis, and presented as a narrative synthesis. The three main emerging themes include strategies to promote hydration, assessment of hydration status and interventions that promote hydration. Challenges in reducing dehydration, implementing consistent assessment techniques and interventions remain heterogeneous, thus leaving gaps and uncertainty in standards and benchmarks that will support hydration practices in residential care home settings. Future research on addressing individual needs of residents adopting a person-centred approach is highly recommended.