Inquiry-based learning has been promoted as a student-centred approach that can strengthen the links between teaching and research. This article examines the potential of inquiry-based learning to strengthen the teaching-research nexus by analysing three case studies: a "structured inquiry" third-year endocrinology medicine module, a "guided inquiry" second-year political communications course and an "open inquiry" third-year ecology course. The relation between teaching and research differed significantly amongst these three cases and led to a reconceptualisation of inquiry-based learning. A model was then developed to link the focus of learning (using Levy's framing of information or discovery-oriented inquiry) with the level of independence and the potential strength of the teaching-research nexus. The findings show that, if teachers are aiming for strong links between teaching and research, they should adopt an open, discovery-oriented inquiry-based learning approach. However, more structured and guided forms of inquiry can be useful to progressively develop particular inquiry skills. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)