Understanding teachers' conceptions of research is fundamental to creating opportunities for teachers to be research-engaged and to take a more leading role in policy and curriculum development. This study investigated the views of Iranian English language teachers towards research by examining their conceptions of what research is, how often they read and do research, and what reasons they report for being or not being research active. To this end, 100 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers with different experience and qualification took part in the study. All teachers were given an attitude towards research questionnaire and then a sub-group of them were randomly chosen to participate in follow-up interviews. The findings revealed that these teachers' views of research are very close to conventional scientific concepts of inquiry and they reported lower levels of research engagement. They explained that lack of time, access to books and journals, funds and practical relevance to their classroom were the main obstacles that hindered them from being research active. An understanding of these issues is essential to remove those barriers and to make teacher research engagement a more viable activity for English teachers. Implications of research are discussed in terms of policy and practice at national and institutional levels.