UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number 811-22003

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

     333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606     
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Kevin J. McCarthy—Vice President and Secretary
     333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606     
(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:      312-917-7700     

Date of fiscal year end:        12/31      

Date of reporting period:    3/31/2007   

Form N-Q is to be used by management investment companies, other than small business investment companies registered on Form N-5 (§§ 239.24 and 274.5 of this chapter), to file reports with the Commission, not later than 60 days after the close of the first and third fiscal quarters, pursuant to rule 30b1-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30b1-5). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-Q in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-Q, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-Q unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. § 3507.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Item 1. Schedule of Investments
	Item 2. Controls and Procedures
	Item 3. Exhibits
SIGNATURES
Certification

Item 1. Schedule of Investments

Portfolio of Investments (Unaudited)

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE)
March 31, 2007

Shares		Description	Value
		Common Stocks – 92.2%
		Aerospace & Defense – 3.8%
	24,400	Boeing Company	$	2,169,404
	32,900	General Dynamics Corporation		2,513,560
	41,800	Lockheed Martin Corporation		4,055,436
	2,200	Northrop Grumman Corporation		163,284
	32,900	Raytheon Company		1,725,934
	9,900	Rockwell Collins, Inc.		662,607
		Total Aerospace & Defense		11,290,225
		Air Freight & Logistics – 0.1%
	2,800	C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.		134,540
	200	FedEx Corporation		21,486
	3,800	Ryder System, Inc.		187,492
		Total Air Freight & Logistics		343,518
		Auto Components – 0.9%
	28,000	Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, (1)		873,320
	17,400	Johnson Controls, Inc.		1,646,388
		Total Auto Components		2,519,708
		Automobiles – 1.5%
	75,800	General Motors Corporation		2,322,512
	36,700	Harley-Davidson, Inc.		2,156,125
		Total Automobiles		4,478,637
		Beverages – 1.5%
	13,500	Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.		681,210
	8,000	Coca-Cola Company		384,000
	600	Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A, (1)		12,708
	8,200	Molson Coors Brewing Company, Class B		775,884
	5,000	Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc.		159,450
	38,500	PepsiCo, Inc.		2,447,060
		Total Beverages		4,460,312
		Biotechnology – 0.2%
	10,400	Gilead Sciences, Inc., (1)		795,600
		Capital Markets – 2.7%
	6,500	Bank of New York Company, Inc.		263,575
	4,400	Franklin Resources, Inc.		531,652
	15,500	Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.		3,202,765
	31,100	JPMorgan Chase & Co.		1,504,618
	2,300	Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.		161,161
	11,200	Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.		914,704
	18,500	Morgan Stanley		1,457,060
		Total Capital Markets		8,035,535
		Chemicals – 1.2%
	1,300	Ashland Inc.		85,280
	1,400	E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company		69,202
	400	Eastman Chemical Company		25,332
	35,200	Ecolab Inc.		1,513,600
	25,600	Hercules Incorporated, (1)		500,224
	17,600	International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.		831,072
	10,500	Sigma-Aldrich Corporation		435,960
		Total Chemicals		3,460,670
		Commercial Banks – 3.8%
	73,000	Bank of America Corporation		3,724,460
	5,300	BB&T Corporation		217,406
	20,900	Compass Bancshares, Inc.		1,437,920
	500	M&T Bank Corporation		57,915
	30,700	Mellon Financial Corporation		1,324,398
	800	National City Corporation		29,800
	4,800	Northern Trust Corporation		288,672
	17,200	PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.		1,237,884
	6,400	Regions Financial Corporation		226,368
	15,100	Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.		384,144
	3,100	SunTrust Banks, Inc.		257,424
	1,500	Synovus Financial Corp.		48,510
	25,900	U.S. Bancorp		905,723
	30,600	Wells Fargo & Company		1,053,558
		Total Commercial Banks		11,194,182
		Commercial Services & Supplies – 0.7%
	11,200	Allied Waste Industries, Inc., (1)		141,008
	11,500	Automatic Data Processing, Inc.		556,600
	8,300	Fiserv, Inc., (1)		440,398
	900	R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company		32,931
	24,300	Waste Management, Inc.		836,163
		Total Commercial Services & Supplies		2,007,100
		Communications Equipment – 0.8%
	18,300	Avaya Inc., (1)		216,123
	85,600	Cisco Systems, Inc., (1)		2,185,368
		Total Communications Equipment		2,401,491
		Computers & Peripherals – 1.8%
	7,300	Apple, Inc., (1)		678,243
	73,200	Hewlett-Packard Company		2,938,248
	400	International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)		37,704
	23,500	Lexmark International, Inc., Class A, (1)		1,373,810
	7,400	Network Appliance, Inc., (1)		270,248
		Total Computers & Peripherals		5,298,253
		Construction Materials – 0.1%
	1,300	Vulcan Materials Company		151,424
		Consumer Finance – 0.3%
	14,300	Ameriprise Financial, Inc.		817,102
		Containers & Packaging – 0.4%
	2,000	Bemis Company, Inc.		66,780
	28,800	Pactiv Corporation, (1)		971,712
	2,400	Temple-Inland Inc.		143,376
		Total Containers & Packaging		1,181,868
		Diversified Financial Services – 2.1%
	6,600	Ambac Financial Group, Inc.		570,174
	4,200	Bear Stearns Companies Inc.		631,470
	2,700	Chicago Merchantile Exchange Holdings Inc., Class A		1,437,642
	28,200	Citigroup Inc.		1,447,788
	900	Moody’s Corporation		55,854
	24,000	Principal Financial Group, Inc.		1,436,880
	2,700	State Street Corporation		174,825
	8,500	T. Rowe Price Group Inc.		401,115
		Total Diversified Financial Services		6,155,748
		Diversified Telecommunication Services – 4.4%
	253,800	AT&T Inc.		10,007,334
	22,000	CenturyTel, Inc.		994,180
	9,100	Citizens Communications Company		136,045
	1,500	Embarq Corporation		84,525
	10,200	Verizon Communications Inc.		386,784
	91,100	Windstream Corporation		1,338,259
		Total Diversified Telecommunication Services		12,947,127
		Electric Utilities – 7.4%
	112,700	AES Corporation, (1)		2,425,304
	34,700	Allegheny Energy, Inc., (1)		1,705,158
	18,600	American Electric Power Company, Inc.		906,750
	66,800	CenterPoint Energy, Inc.		1,198,392
	22,200	CMS Energy Corporation		395,160
	2,300	Consolidated Edison, Inc.		117,438
	10,600	Constellation Energy Group		921,670
	3,200	DTE Energy Company		153,280
	1,300	Edison International		63,869
	18,600	Entergy Corporation		1,951,512
	9,300	Exelon Corporation		639,003
	43,400	FirstEnergy Corp.		2,874,816
	38,000	FPL Group, Inc.		2,324,460
	44,100	PG&E Corporation		2,128,707
	19,600	Pinnacle West Capital Corporation		945,700
	11,700	PPL Corporation		478,530
	200	Progress Energy, Inc.		10,088
	2,000	Southern Company		73,300
	15,300	TXU Corp.		980,730
	59,700	Xcel Energy, Inc.		1,473,993
		Total Electric Utilities		21,767,860
		Electrical Equipment – 0.1%
	5,500	Cooper Industries, Ltd., Class A		247,445
	2,900	Emerson Electric Co.		124,961
		Total Electrical Equipment		372,406
		Electronic Equipment & Instruments – 1.0%
	59,100	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., (1)		2,762,925
	5,200	Waters Corporation, (1)		301,600
		Total Electronic Equipment & Instruments		3,064,525
		Energy Equipment & Services – 0.0%
	300	ENSCO International Incorporated		16,320
	1,900	Schlumberger Limited		131,290
		Total Energy Equipment & Services		147,610
		Food & Staples Retailing – 2.4%
	16,700	CVS Caremark Corporation		570,138
	86,500	Kroger Co.		2,443,625
	91,600	Safeway Inc.		3,356,224
	10,900	SUPERVALU INC.		425,863
	10,500	Sysco Corporation		355,215
	200	Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company		10,186
		Total Food & Staples Retailing		7,161,251
		Food Products – 4.3%
	57,600	Archer-Daniels-Midland Company		2,113,920
	47,700	Campbell Soup Company		1,857,915
	65,600	ConAgra Foods, Inc.		1,634,096
	3,100	Dean Foods Company, (1)		144,894
	28,200	General Mills, Inc.		1,641,804
	53,100	H.J. Heinz Company		2,502,072
	14,900	Kellogg Company		766,307
	24,500	McCormick & Company, Incorporated		943,740
	11,200	Monsanto Company		615,552
	31,800	Tyson Foods, Inc., Class A		617,238
		Total Food Products		12,837,538
		Gas Utilities – 0.5%
	23,000	KeySpan Corporation		946,450
	2,300	Nicor Inc.		111,366
	11,700	NiSource Inc.		285,948
	200	Questar Corporation		17,842
	2,500	Spectra Energy Corporation		65,675
		Total Gas Utilities		1,427,281
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies – 2.0%
	12,600	AmerisourceBergen Corporation		664,650
	40,700	Applera Corporation-Applied Biosystems Group		1,203,499
	27,400	Baxter International Inc.		1,443,158
	6,000	Becton, Dickinson and Company		461,340
	1,000	Biomet, Inc.		42,490
	10,100	C. R. Bard, Inc.		803,051
	200	Cardinal Health, Inc.		14,590
	11,800	Stryker Corporation		782,576
	1,300	Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (1)		61,997
	4,200	Zimmer Holdings, Inc., (1)		358,722
		Total Health Care Equipment & Supplies		5,836,073
		Health Care Providers & Services – 1.7%
	1,600	CIGNA Corporation		228,256
	20,000	Humana Inc., (1)		1,160,400
	26,400	Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, (1)		1,917,432
	13,700	Manor Care, Inc.		744,732
	9,800	Medco Health Solutions, Inc., (1)		710,794
	2,300	Quest Diagnostics Incorporated		114,701
		Total Health Care Providers & Services		4,876,315
		Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure – 2.7%
	200	Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.		16,890
	39,800	Hilton Hotels Corporation		1,431,208
	73,800	International Game Technology		2,980,044
	25,900	Marriott International, Inc., Class A		1,268,064
	35,300	McDonald’s Corporation		1,590,265
	7,300	Starbucks Corporation, (1)		228,928
	11,500	Wendy’s International, Inc.		359,950
	2,700	YUM! Brands, Inc.		155,952
		Total Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		8,031,301
		Household Durables – 0.5%
	34,400	Newell Rubbermaid Inc.		1,069,496
	9,700	Snap-on Incorporated		466,570
		Total Household Durables		1,536,066
		Household Products – 3.0%
	5,900	Clorox Company		375,771
	58,500	Colgate-Palmolive Company		3,907,215
	8,900	Kimberly-Clark Corporation		609,561
	62,400	Procter & Gamble Company		3,941,184
		Total Household Products		8,833,731
		Industrial Conglomerates – 0.6%
	900	American Standard Companies Inc.		47,718
	44,700	General Electric Company		1,580,592
	300	Tyco International Ltd.		9,465
		Total Industrial Conglomerates		1,637,775
		Insurance – 3.0%
	6,600	Allstate Corporation		396,396
	7,100	Chubb Corporation		366,857
	1,900	Genworth Financial Inc., Class A		66,386
	12,000	Lincoln National Corporation		813,480
	86,700	Loews Corporation		3,938,781
	2,300	MBIA Inc.		150,627
	12,000	MetLife, Inc.		757,800
	1,800	Prudential Financial, Inc.		162,468
	10,300	SAFECO Corporation		684,229
	11,400	Torchmark Corporation		747,726
	14,800	Travelers Companies, Inc.		766,196
	300	Unum Group		6,909
		Total Insurance		8,857,855
		Internet & Catalog Retail – 0.3%
	1,400	Amazon.com, Inc., (1)		55,706
	21,000	IAC/InterActiveCorp., (1)		791,910
		Total Internet & Catalog Retail		847,616
		Internet Software & Services – 0.5%
	3,400	Google Inc., Class A, (1)		1,557,744
		IT Services – 0.3%
	30,500	Convergys Corporation, (1)		775,005
	1,000	IMS Health Incorporated		29,660
		Total IT Services		804,665
		Leisure Equipment & Products – 1.1%
	34,800	Hasbro, Inc.		995,976
	77,800	Mattel, Inc.		2,144,946
		Total Leisure Equipment & Products		3,140,922
		Machinery – 1.5%
	5,700	Cummins Inc.		824,904
	1,300	Danaher Corporation		92,885
	6,400	Deere & Company		695,296
	23,900	PACCAR Inc.		1,754,260
	1,900	Pall Corporation		72,200
	13,600	Terex Corporation, (1)		975,936
		Total Machinery		4,415,481
		Media – 6.1%
	24,700	CBS Corporation, Class B		755,573
	16,900	Clear Channel Communications, Inc.		592,176
	144,700	Comcast Corporation, Class A, (1)		3,754,965
	130,200	DIRECTV Group, Inc., (1)		3,003,714
	200	E.W. Scripps Company, Class A		8,936
	30,400	Interpublic Group Companies, Inc., (1)		374,224
	21,200	McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.		1,333,056
	152,800	News Corporation, Class A		3,532,736
	16,700	Omnicom Group Inc.		1,709,746
	34,000	Time Warner Inc.		670,480
	800	Tribune Company		25,688
	67,500	Walt Disney Company		2,324,025
		Total Media		18,085,319
		Metals & Mining – 1.9%
	20,400	Allegheny Technologies, Inc.		2,176,476
	15,500	Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.		1,025,945
	35,200	Nucor Corporation		2,292,576
	1,500	United States Steel Corporation		148,755
		Total Metals & Mining		5,643,752
		Multiline Retail – 3.6%
	20,600	Big Lots, Inc., (1)		644,368
	2,700	Costco Wholesale Corporation		145,368
	13,900	Dillard’s, Inc., Class A		454,947
	3,400	Dollar General Corporation		71,910
	7,200	Family Dollar Stores, Inc.		213,264
	500	Federated Department Stores, Inc.		22,525
	34,500	J.C. Penney Company, Inc.		2,834,520
	45,000	Kohl’s Corporation, (1)		3,447,450
	10,400	Nordstrom, Inc.		550,576
	11,500	Sears Holding Corporation, (1)		2,071,840
	600	Target Corporation		35,556
		Total Multiline Retail		10,492,324
		Multi-Utilities – 0.4%
	3,000	Dominion Resources, Inc.		266,310
	5,000	Duke Energy Corporation		101,450
	5,200	Integrys Energy Group, Inc.		288,652
	8,200	Sempra Energy		500,282
		Total Multi-Utilities		1,156,694
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels – 2.0%
	9,600	Chevron Corporation		710,016
	43,500	Exxon Mobil Corporation		3,282,075
	5,400	Kinder Morgan, Inc.		574,830
	11,900	Marathon Oil Corporation		1,176,077
	2,800	Williams Companies, Inc.		79,688
	200	XTO Energy, Inc.		10,962
		Total Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels		5,833,648
		Paper & Forest Products – 0.0%
	600	Weyerhaeuser Company		44,844
		Personal Products – 0.1%
	14,500	Avon Products, Inc.		540,270
	3,000	Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Class A		146,550
		Total Personal Products		686,820
		Pharmaceuticals – 4.6%
	11,500	Abbott Laboratories		641,700
	13,400	Allergan, Inc.		1,484,988
	12,400	Bristol-Myers Squibb Company		344,224
	39,200	Celgene Corporation, (1)		2,056,432
	22,400	Forest Laboratories, Inc., (1)		1,152,256
	26,000	Johnson & Johnson		1,566,760
	123,600	Merck & Co. Inc.		5,459,412
	1,400	Pfizer Inc.		35,364
	21,900	Schering-Plough Corporation		558,669
	6,400	Wyeth		320,192
		Total Pharmaceuticals		13,619,997
		Real Estate – 5.1%
	21,600	Apartment Investment & Management Company, Class A		1,246,104
	31,000	Archstone-Smith Trust		1,682,680
	4,200	AvalonBay Communities, Inc.		546,000
	26,000	Boston Properties, Inc.		3,052,400
	2,800	Developers Diversified Realty Corporation		176,120
	31,900	Equity Residential		1,538,537
	12,900	Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.		339,399
	33,500	Kimco Realty Corporation		1,632,790
	11,200	ProLogis		727,216
	10,900	Public Storage, Inc.		1,031,903
	4,900	Simon Property Group, Inc.		545,125
	21,000	Vornado Realty Trust		2,506,140
		Total Real Estate		15,024,414
		Real Estate Management & Development – 0.2%
	20,800	CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., Class A, (1)		710,944
	1,100	Realogy Corporation, (1)		32,571
		Total Real Estate Management & Development		743,515
		Road & Rail – 0.7%
	36,000	CSX Corporation		1,441,800
	5,500	Union Pacific Corporation		558,525
		Total Road & Rail		2,000,325
		Semiconductors & Equipment – 0.6%
	11,700	Novellus Systems, Inc., (1)		374,634
	45,800	NVIDIA Corporation, (1)		1,318,124
	1,900	QLogic Corporation, (1)		32,300
		Total Semiconductors & Equipment		1,725,058
		Software – 2.4%
	400	Adobe Systems Incorporated, (1)		16,680
	48,000	BMC Software, Inc., (1)		1,477,920
	18,100	Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Class A, (1)		1,597,687
	34,800	Intuit Inc., (1)		952,128
	1,300	Microsoft Corporation		36,231
	142,400	Oracle Corporation, (1)		2,581,712
	18,000	Symantec Corporation, (1)		311,400
		Total Software		6,973,758
		Specialty Retail – 2.0%
	1,900	Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Class A		143,792
	5,900	AutoZone, Inc., (1)		756,026
	26,700	Limited Brands, Inc.		695,802
	30,700	Office Depot, Inc., (1)		1,078,798
	15,800	OfficeMax Inc.		833,292
	9,900	RadioShack Corporation		267,597
	19,200	Sherwin-Williams Company		1,267,968
	500	Tiffany & Co.		22,740
	31,000	TJX Companies, Inc.		835,760
		Total Specialty Retail		5,901,775
		Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods – 1.0%
	7,700	Coach, Inc., (1)		385,385
	2,400	Jones Apparel Group, Inc.		73,752
	1,900	Liz Claiborne, Inc.		81,415
	3,200	Nike, Inc., Class B		340,032
	5,200	Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation		458,380
	19,000	VF Corporation		1,569,780
		Total Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods		2,908,744
		Thrifts & Mortgage Finance – 0.0%
	1,500	Countrywide Financial Corporation		50,460
	5,800	Hudson City Bancorp, Inc.		79,344
		Total Thrifts & Mortgage Finance		129,804
		Tobacco – 2.3%
	27,800	Altria Group, Inc.		2,441,118
	36,200	Reynolds American Inc.		2,259,242
	35,300	UST Inc.		2,046,694
		Total Tobacco		6,747,054
		Total Common Stocks (cost $272,474,985)		272,410,360

Principal
Amount (000)		Description	Coupon	Maturity	Value
		Short-Term Investments – 100.0%
		U.S. Government and Agency Obligations – 1.7%
$	5,000	United State of America Treasury Bills	0.000%	6/28/07	$	4,939,989
		Repurchase Agreements – 98.3%
	290,591	Repurchase Agreement with State Street Bank, dated 3/30/07, repurchase price $290,710,117, collateralized by $225,620,000 U.S. Treasury Bonds, 8.125%, due 8/15/19, value $296,408,275	4.900%	4/02/07		290,591,459
$	295,591	Total Short-Term Investments (cost $295,531,448)				295,531,448
		Total Investments (cost $568,006,433) – 192.2%				567,941,808
		Other Assets Less Liabilities – (92.2)%				(272,412,938	)
		Net Assets – 100%			$	295,528,870

(1) Non-income producing.

Income Tax Information

The following information is presented on an income tax basis. Differences between amounts for financial statement and federal income tax purposes are primarily due to timing differences in recognizing certain gains and losses on investment transactions.

At March 31, 2007, the cost of investments was $568,006,433.

Gross unrealized appreciation and gross unrealized depreciation of investments at March 31, 2007, were as follows:

Gross unrealized:
Appreciation	$	1,773
Depreciation		(66,398	)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments	$	($64,625	)

Item 2. Controls and Procedures.

a.

The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of the controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rule 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).

b.

There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the registrant’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 3. Exhibits.

File as exhibits as part of this Form a separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)), exactly as set forth below: EX-99 CERT Attached hereto.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant) Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

By (Signature and Title)*	/s/ Kevin J. McCarthy
	Kevin J. McCarthy
	Vice President and Secretary

Date May 30, 2007

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title)*	/s/ Gifford R. Zimmerman
	Gifford R. Zimmerman
	Chief Administrative Officer (principal executive officer)

Date May 30, 2007

By (Signature and Title)*	/s/ Stephen D. Foy
	Stephen D. Foy
	Vice President and Controller (principal financial officer)

Date May 30, 2007

* Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.