485BPOS

AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON DECEMBER 19, 2012

1933 Act File No. 333-40455

1940 Act File No. 811-08495

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933	x
Post-Effective Amendment No. 141	x
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
Amendment No. 142	x

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FUNDS

(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN CHARTER)

1000 CONTINENTAL DRIVE, SUITE 400

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406

(ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE) (ZIP CODE)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (610) 230-1300

Send Copies of Communications to:

ALLAN J. OSTER, ESQ.	BARBARA A. NUGENT, ESQ.
1000 CONTINENTAL DRIVE, SUITE 400	STRADLEY RONON STEVENS & YOUNG, LLP
KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406	2600 ONE COMMERCE SQUARE
	PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19103
(NAME AND ADDRESS OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

It is proposed that this filing will become effective: (check appropriate box)

x immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ on [date] pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ on [date] pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

¨ on [date] pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box:

¨ This post-effective amendment designated a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, Nationwide Mutual Funds (a Delaware Statutory Trust) certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this registration statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 141, 142 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the Township of Upper Merion, and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on this 19th day of December, 2012.

NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FUNDS
BY:	/s/ Allan J. Oster
	Allan J. Oster, Attorney-In-Fact for Registrant

PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, THIS POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NOS. 141, 142 TO THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT OF NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FUNDS HAS BEEN SIGNED BELOW BY THE FOLLOWING PERSONS IN THE CAPACITIES INDICATED ON THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2012.

Signature & Title

Principal Executive Officer

/s/ Michael S. Spangler*

Michael S. Spangler, President and

Chief Executive Officer

Principal Accounting and Financial Officer

/s/ Joseph Finelli*

Joseph Finelli, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

/s/ Charles E. Allen*

Charles E. Allen, Trustee

/s/ Paula H.J. Cholmondeley*

Paula H.J. Cholmondeley, Trustee

/s/ C. Brent Devore*

C. Brent Devore, Trustee

/s/ Phyllis Kay Dryden*

Phyllis Kay Dryden, Trustee

/s/ Barbara L. Hennigar*

Barbara L. Hennigar, Trustee

/s/ Barbara I. Jacobs*

Barbara I. Jacobs, Trustee

/s/ Keith F. Karlawish*

Keith F. Karlawish, Trustee

/s/ Douglas F. Kridler*

Douglas F. Kridler, Trustee

/s/ David C. Wetmore*

David C. Wetmore, Trustee and Chairman

*BY:	/s/ Allan J. Oster
	Allan J. Oster, Attorney-In Fact

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit No.	Exhibit
EX-101.INS	XBRL Instance Document
EX-101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
EX-101.CALC	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
EX-101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
EX-101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase
EX-101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FUNDS
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Dec. 06, 2012
Nationwide Bond Fund
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	FUND SUMMARY: NATIONWIDE BOND FUND
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The Fund seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with preserving capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay when buying and holding shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Nationwide Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in “Investing with Nationwide Funds” commencing on page 10 of this Prospectus and in “Additional Information on Purchases and Sales” commencing on page 78 of the Statement of Additional Information.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	February 28, 2014
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ending October 31, 2011, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 56.39% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	56.39%
Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text]	rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts	You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Nationwide Funds.
Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required [Amount]	rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount	100,000
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This Example is intended to help you to compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return each year and no change in expenses. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example, No Redemption, By Year, Caption [Text]	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionByYearCaption	You would pay the following expenses on the same investment if you did not sell your shares:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in a wide variety of investment grade fixed-income securities, such as corporate bonds, U.S. government securities, mortgage-backed securities, and commercial paper. The Fund may also invest in high-yield (i.e., “junk”) bonds, as well as foreign government and corporate bonds that are denominated in U.S. dollars. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing in securities offering the highest level of expected income while simultaneously minimizing market price fluctuations. In selecting securities, the subadviser typically maintains an average portfolio duration of three to seven years. The subadviser seeks value and may sell a security to take advantage of more favorable opportunities. The subadviser also may sell a bond as it gets closer to its maturity in order to maintain the Fund’s target duration and achieve an attractive total return.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of: Interest rate risk – generally, when interest rates go up, the value of fixed-income securities goes down. Prices of longer-term securities generally change more in response to interest rate changes than prices of shorter-term securities. To the extent a Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in fixed-income securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates are more likely to cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly. Credit risk – a bond issuer may be unable to pay the interest or principal when due. If an issuer defaults, the Fund may lose money. This risk is particularly high for high-yield bonds. Changes in a bond issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also affect the value of a bond. Liquidity risk – is the risk that a security cannot be sold, or cannot be sold quickly, at an acceptable price. Prepayment and call risk – certain bonds will be paid off by the issuer more quickly than anticipated. If this happens, the Fund may be required to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields. Extension risk – when interest rates rise, certain bond obligations, such as mortgage-backed securities, will be paid in full by the issuer more slowly than anticipated. This can cause the market value of the security to fall because the market may view its interest rate as low for a longer-term investment. Mortgage-backed securities risk – mortgage-backed securities are generally subject to the same types of risk that apply to other fixed-income securities, such as interest rate risk and credit risk, and are subject to prepayment and call risk and extension risk. Through its investments in mortgage-backed securities, the Fund may have some exposure to subprime loans, as well as to the mortgage and credit markets generally. Subprime loans, which are loans made to borrowers with weakened credit histories, have had in many cases higher default rates than loans that meet government underwriting requirements. High-yield bonds risk – investing in high-yield bonds and other lower-rated bonds will subject the Fund to substantial risk of loss. Foreign securities risk – foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. In addition to these risks, the Fund’s portfolio managers may select securities that underperform the bond market, the Fund’s benchmark or other mutual funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. If the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, you may lose money.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	If the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, you may lose money.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If the applicable sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920. Please call 800-848-0920 for the Fund’s current 30-day yield.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800-848-0920
Performance Availability Website Address [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress	www.nationwide.com/mutualfunds
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Annual Total Returns – Institutional Service Class Shares (Years Ended December 31,)
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If the applicable sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	Best Quarter:   6.49% – 3rd qtr. of 2009 Worst Quarter:   -2.80% – 2nd qtr. of 2004
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns For the Periods Ended December 31, 2011:
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate	rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate	After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred	rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred	After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-deferred arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text]	rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown	After-tax returns are shown in the table for Institutional Service Class shares (formerly known as Class D shares) only and will vary for other classes.
Performance Table Narrative	rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock	After-tax returns are shown in the table for Institutional Service Class shares (formerly known as Class D shares) only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-deferred arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans. The inception dates for the Class B, Class C and Class R2 shares are September 4, 2003, September 4, 2003 and October 1, 2003, respectively. Institutional Class shares have not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus. Pre-inception historical performance for Class B and Class C shares is based on the previous performance of Class X and Class Y shares, respectively (neither of which are still offered by the Fund). Pre-inception historical performance for Class R2 and Institutional Class shares is based on the previous performance of Institutional Service Class shares. Performance for these classes has been adjusted to reflect differences in sales charges between classes, but not differing expenses. Performance returns for Institutional Service Class shares (formerly Class D shares) reflect a front-end sales charge of 4.50%. This front-end sales charge was eliminated effective August 1, 2012, at which time the former Class D shares were redesignated as Institutional Service Class shares.
Thirty Day Yield Phone	rr_ThirtyDayYieldPhone	800-848-0920
Nationwide Bond Fund | Class A Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	4.25%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice	none
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.43%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.18%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.33%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.85%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	508
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	753
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	1,016
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,768
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.78%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.00%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.16%
Nationwide Bond Fund | Class B Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice	5.00%
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	1.00%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.38%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.88%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.33%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.55%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	658
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	859
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	1,186
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,905
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	158
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	559
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	986
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	1,905
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	0.50%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	4.88%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.93%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Sep. 04, 2003
Nationwide Bond Fund | Class C Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice	1.00%
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	1.00%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.38%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.88%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.33%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.55%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	258
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	559
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	986
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	2,174
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	158
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	559
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	986
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	2,174
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.61%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.21%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.93%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Sep. 04, 2003
Nationwide Bond Fund | Institutional Service Class Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice	none
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.42%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.92%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.33%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.59%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	508
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	699
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	906
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,501
2002	rr_AnnualReturn2002	9.27%
2003	rr_AnnualReturn2003	6.39%
2004	rr_AnnualReturn2004	4.83%
2005	rr_AnnualReturn2005	3.13%
2006	rr_AnnualReturn2006	4.40%
2007	rr_AnnualReturn2007	6.10%
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(4.63%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	15.97%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	8.11%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	6.61%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	Best Quarter:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	6.49%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2004
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(2.80%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.84%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.25%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.41%
Nationwide Bond Fund | Class R2 Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice	none
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.50%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.53%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.53%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.33%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.20%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	122
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	451
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	803
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,795
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.98%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.57%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.41%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Oct. 01, 2003
Nationwide Bond Fund | Institutional Class Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice	none
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.38%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.88%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.33%)	[1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.55%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	56
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	248
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	455
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,054
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	6.61%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	6.23%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.90%
Nationwide Bond Fund | After Taxes on Distributions | Institutional Service Class Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	0.08%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	3.42%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.59%
Nationwide Bond Fund | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Shares | Institutional Service Class Shares
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.52%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	3.45%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.56%
Nationwide Bond Fund | Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (The Index does not pay sales charges, fees, expenses or taxes.)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	7.84%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	6.50%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.78%

[1] Nationwide Mutual Funds (the "Trust") and Nationwide Fund Advisors (the "Adviser") have entered into a written contract limiting operating expenses to 0.55% until at least February 28, 2014. Under the expense limitation agreement, the level to which operating expenses are limited applies to all share classes, excluding any taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, Rule 12b-1 fees, short-sale dividend expenses, administrative services fees, other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and expenses incurred by the Fund in connection with any merger or reorganization, and may exclude other non-routine expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund's business. The expense limitation agreement may be changed or eliminated at any time but only with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Trust is authorized to reimburse the Adviser for management fees previously waived and/or for expenses previously paid by the Adviser, provided, however, that any reimbursements must be paid at a date not more than three years after the fiscal year in which the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses and the reimbursements do not cause the Fund to exceed the expense limitation that was in place at the time the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses. More information about administrative services fees can be found in "Investing with Nationwide Funds" on page 14 of this Prospectus.

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Nationwide Bond Fund

FUND SUMMARY: NATIONWIDE BOND FUND

Objective

The Fund seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with preserving capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay when buying and holding shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Nationwide Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in “Investing with Nationwide Funds” commencing on page 10 of this Prospectus and in “Additional Information on Purchases and Sales” commencing on page 78 of the Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees (paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees Nationwide Bond Fund	Class A Shares	Class B Shares	Class C Shares	Class R2 Shares	Institutional Class Shares	Institutional Service Class Shares
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	4.25%	none	none	none	none	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	none	5.00%	1.00%	none	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses Nationwide Bond Fund		Class A Shares	Class B Shares	Class C Shares	Class R2 Shares	Institutional Class Shares	Institutional Service Class Shares
Management Fees		0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee		0.25%	1.00%	1.00%	0.50%	none	none
Other Expenses		0.43%	0.38%	0.38%	0.53%	0.38%	0.42%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.18%	1.88%	1.88%	1.53%	0.88%	0.92%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	[1]	(0.33%)	(0.33%)	(0.33%)	(0.33%)	(0.33%)	(0.33%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement		0.85%	1.55%	1.55%	1.20%	0.55%	0.59%

Example

This Example is intended to help you to compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return each year and no change in expenses. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example Nationwide Bond Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A Shares	508	753	1,016	1,768
Class B Shares	658	859	1,186	1,905
Class C Shares	258	559	986	2,174
Class R2 Shares	122	451	803	1,795
Institutional Service Class Shares	508	699	906	1,501
Institutional Class Shares	56	248	455	1,054

You would pay the following expenses on the same investment if you did not sell your shares:

Expense Example, No Redemption Nationwide Bond Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class B Shares	158	559	986	1,905
Class C Shares	158	559	986	2,174

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ending October 31, 2011, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 56.39% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in a wide variety of investment grade fixed-income securities, such as corporate bonds, U.S. government securities, mortgage-backed securities, and commercial paper. The Fund may also invest in high-yield (i.e., “junk”) bonds, as well as foreign government and corporate bonds that are denominated in U.S. dollars. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing in securities offering the highest level of expected income while simultaneously minimizing market price fluctuations. In selecting securities, the subadviser typically maintains an average portfolio duration of three to seven years.

The subadviser seeks value and may sell a security to take advantage of more favorable opportunities. The subadviser also may sell a bond as it gets closer to its maturity in order to maintain the Fund’s target duration and achieve an attractive total return.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Interest rate risk – generally, when interest rates go up, the value of fixed-income securities goes down. Prices of longer-term securities generally change more in response to interest rate changes than prices of shorter-term securities. To the extent a Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in fixed-income securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates are more likely to cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly.

Credit risk – a bond issuer may be unable to pay the interest or principal when due. If an issuer defaults, the Fund may lose money. This risk is particularly high for high-yield bonds. Changes in a bond issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also affect the value of a bond.

Liquidity risk – is the risk that a security cannot be sold, or cannot be sold quickly, at an acceptable price.

Prepayment and call risk – certain bonds will be paid off by the issuer more quickly than anticipated. If this happens, the Fund may be required to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.

Extension risk – when interest rates rise, certain bond obligations, such as mortgage-backed securities, will be paid in full by the issuer more slowly than anticipated. This can cause the market value of the security to fall because the market may view its interest rate as low for a longer-term investment.

Mortgage-backed securities risk – mortgage-backed securities are generally subject to the same types of risk that apply to other fixed-income securities, such as interest rate risk and credit risk, and are subject to prepayment and call risk and extension risk. Through its investments in mortgage-backed securities, the Fund may have some exposure to subprime loans, as well as to the mortgage and credit markets generally. Subprime loans, which are loans made to borrowers with weakened credit histories, have had in many cases higher default rates than loans that meet government underwriting requirements.

High-yield bonds risk – investing in high-yield bonds and other lower-rated bonds will subject the Fund to substantial risk of loss.

Foreign securities risk – foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities.

In addition to these risks, the Fund’s portfolio managers may select securities that underperform the bond market, the Fund’s benchmark or other mutual funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. If the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, you may lose money.

Performance

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If the applicable sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Please call 800-848-0920 for the Fund’s current 30-day yield.

Annual Total Returns – Institutional Service Class Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Best Quarter:   6.49% – 3rd qtr. of 2009
Worst Quarter:   -2.80% – 2nd qtr. of 2004

After-tax returns are shown in the table for Institutional Service Class shares (formerly known as Class D shares) only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-deferred arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The inception dates for the Class B, Class C and Class R2 shares are September 4, 2003, September 4, 2003 and October 1, 2003, respectively. Institutional Class shares have not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus. Pre-inception historical performance for Class B and Class C shares is based on the previous performance of Class X and Class Y shares, respectively (neither of which are still offered by the Fund). Pre-inception historical performance for Class R2 and Institutional Class shares is based on the previous performance of Institutional Service Class shares. Performance for these classes has been adjusted to reflect differences in sales charges between classes, but not differing expenses. Performance returns for Institutional Service Class shares (formerly Class D shares) reflect a front-end sales charge of 4.50%. This front-end sales charge was eliminated effective August 1, 2012, at which time the former Class D shares were redesignated as Institutional Service Class shares.

Average Annual Total Returns
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2011:

Average Annual Total Returns Nationwide Bond Fund	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Inception Date
Class A Shares	1.78%	5.00%	5.16%
Class B Shares	0.50%	4.88%	4.93%	Sep. 04, 2003
Class C Shares	4.61%	5.21%	4.93%	Sep. 04, 2003
Institutional Service Class Shares	1.84%	5.25%	5.41%
Institutional Service Class Shares After Taxes on Distributions	0.08%	3.42%	3.59%
Institutional Service Class Shares After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Shares	1.52%	3.45%	3.56%
Institutional Class Shares	6.61%	6.23%	5.90%
Class R2 Shares	5.98%	5.57%	5.41%	Oct. 01, 2003
Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (The Index does not pay sales charges, fees, expenses or taxes.)	7.84%	6.50%	5.78%

[1] Nationwide Mutual Funds (the "Trust") and Nationwide Fund Advisors (the "Adviser") have entered into a written contract limiting operating expenses to 0.55% until at least February 28, 2014. Under the expense limitation agreement, the level to which operating expenses are limited applies to all share classes, excluding any taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, Rule 12b-1 fees, short-sale dividend expenses, administrative services fees, other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and expenses incurred by the Fund in connection with any merger or reorganization, and may exclude other non-routine expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund's business. The expense limitation agreement may be changed or eliminated at any time but only with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Trust is authorized to reimburse the Adviser for management fees previously waived and/or for expenses previously paid by the Adviser, provided, however, that any reimbursements must be paid at a date not more than three years after the fiscal year in which the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses and the reimbursements do not cause the Fund to exceed the expense limitation that was in place at the time the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses. More information about administrative services fees can be found in "Investing with Nationwide Funds" on page 14 of this Prospectus.

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	Dec. 06, 2012
Risk/Return:
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Prospectus Date	Dec. 06, 2012

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