UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-Q QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY Investment Company Act file number:811-01728 Nicholas Fund, Inc. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) 700 North Water Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

   (Zip Code)
  Jeffrey T. May, Senior Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer700 North Water StreetMilwaukee, Wisconsin 53202(Name and Address of Agent for Service) Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code:414-272-4650Date of Fiscal Year End:03/31/2013Date of Reporting Period:06/30/2012 Item 1. Schedule of Investments.


---



NICHOLAS FUND, INC.SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (UNAUDITED)AS OF June 30, 2012VALUE--------------COMMON STOCKS -- 95.93%Consumer Discretionary - Automobiles &Components -- 2.11%1,200,000

   Johnson Controls, Inc.

   $   33,252,000--------------Consumer Discretionary - Durables &Apparel -- 1.06%175,000

   Deckers Outdoor Corporation *

   7,701,750125,000

   Polaris Industries Inc.

   8,935,000--------------16,636,750--------------Consumer Discretionary - Media -- 1.27%346,500

   Morningstar, Inc.

   20,041,560--------------Consumer Discretionary - Retailing -- 14.38%1,428,600

   Aaron's, Inc.

   40,443,666779,100

   Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. *

   33,080,5861,019,009

   LKQ Corporation *

   34,034,901662,476

   O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. *

   55,495,614866,160

   Penske Automotive Group, Inc.

   18,397,238684,786

   Sally Beauty Company, Inc. *

   17,626,392615,000

   Signet Jewelers Limited

   27,066,150--------------226,144,547--------------Consumer Staples - Food & StaplesRetailing -- 2.73%1,450,000

   Walgreen Co.

   42,891,000--------------Consumer Staples - Food, Beverage &Tobacco -- 4.38%550,000

   Philip Morris International Inc.

   47,993,000774,800

   Seneca Foods Corporation - Class A *

   20,842,120--------------68,835,120--------------Energy -- 5.04%350,000

   Apache Corporation

   30,761,500661,554

   Kinder Morgan Management, LLC *

   48,571,287--------------79,332,787--------------Financials - Banks -- 2.13%1,000,000

   Wells Fargo & Company

   33,440,000--------------Financials - Diversified -- 7.44%731,174

   Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. *

   80,026,9941,734,785

   Leucadia National Corporation

   36,898,877--------------116,925,871--------------Financials - Insurance -- 2.64%100,000

   Aon plc

   4,678,000900,000

   Loews Corporation

   36,819,000--------------41,497,000--------------Financials - Real Estate -- 2.62%1,550,000

   CBRE Group Inc. *

   25,358,0001,520,950

   Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund,Inc.

   15,893,927--------------41,251,927--------------Health Care - Equipment & Services -- 5.67%270,000

   C.R. Bard, Inc.

   29,008,800557,500

   Covidien plc

   29,826,250188,127

   DaVita, Inc. *

   18,475,953265,100

   Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. *

   11,932,151--------------89,243,154--------------Health Care - Pharmaceuticals,Biotechnology & Life Sciences -- 11.03%900,000

   Gilead Sciences, Inc. *

   46,152,000154,400

   Mettler-Toledo International Inc. *

   24,063,240
  Page 1


---



825,688

   Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

   42,861,4641,350,000

   Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. *

   60,466,500--------------173,543,204--------------Industrials - Capital Goods -- 10.01%590,000

   A.O. Smith Corporation

   28,845,10085,889

   Oshkosh Corporation *

   1,799,375721,100

   Snap-on Incorporated

   44,888,475278,910

   W.W. Grainger, Inc.

   53,338,748723,695

   Woodward Inc.

   28,542,531--------------157,414,229--------------Industrials - Commercial & ProfessionalServices -- 4.86%1,533,000

   Copart, Inc. *

   36,316,770775,303

   Healthcare Services Group, Inc.

   15,025,372950,000

   Republic Services, Inc.

   25,137,000--------------76,479,142--------------Industrials - Transportation -- 1.50%500,000

   Kirby Corporation *

   23,540,000--------------Information Technology - Hardware &Equipment -- 1.06%819,740

   Molex Incorporated - Class A

   16,583,340--------------Information Technology - Semiconductors &Semiconductor Equipment -- 0.21%100,000

   Microchip Technology Incorporated

   3,308,000--------------Information Technology - Software &Services -- 8.61%563,300

   Fiserv, Inc. *

   40,681,526160,000

   MasterCard Incorporated - Class A

   68,817,600300,000

   Paychex, Inc.

   9,423,000395,700

   Solera Holdings, Inc.

   16,536,303--------------135,458,429--------------Materials -- 7.18%350,000

   AptarGroup, Inc.

   17,867,5001,250,000

   Ball Corporation

   51,312,500463,725

   Stepan Company

   43,673,621--------------112,853,621--------------TOTAL COMMON STOCKS(cost $1,023,966,973)

   1,508,671,681--------------SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS -- 3.07%Commercial Paper - 2.91%$3,175,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 07/02/12, 0.43%

   3,175,0002,700,000

   Leggett & Platt, Incorporated 07/02/12, 0.35%

   2,700,000300,000

   Hitachi Capital America Corp. 07/03/12, 0.45%

   299,9961,375,000

   Hasbro, Inc. 07/05/12, 0.41%

   1,374,9533,000,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 07/05/12, 0.40%

   2,999,9005,000,000

   Stanley Black & Decker Inc. 07/09/12, 0.31%

   4,999,6983,325,000

   Stanley Black & Decker Inc. 07/11/12, 0.35%

   3,324,7094,575,000

   Integrys Energy Group, Inc. 07/13/12, 0.42%

   4,574,4132,400,000

   Verizon Communications Inc. 07/16/12, 0.33%

   2,399,6921,600,000

   Valspar Corporation 07/17/12, 0.37%

   1,599,753450,000

   Sherwin-Williams Company (The)07/18/12, 0.22%

   449,9562,275,000

   Verizon Communications Inc. 07/19/12, 0.33%

   2,274,6452,075,000

   Leggett & Platt, Incorporated 07/24/12, 0.37%

   2,074,5313,950,000

   Bacardi Corporation 07/25/12, 0.43%

   3,948,9152,775,000

   H.J. Heinz Finance Company 07/26/12, 0.30%

   2,774,4455,350,000

   Prudential Financial, Inc. 07/27/12, 0.35%

   5,348,7001,450,000

   Clorox Company (The) 07/30/12, 0.30%

   1,449,662--------------45,768,968--------------Variable Rate Security - 0.16%2,559,891

   American Family Financial Services, Inc.(1)07/02/12, 0.10%

   2,559,891--------------TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS(cost $48,328,859)

   48,328,859--------------TOTAL SECURITY HOLDINGS(cost $1,072,295,832) - 99.00%

   1,557,000,540
  Page 2


---



--------------OTHER ASSETS, NET OF LIABILITIES - 1.00%

   15,764,122--------------TOTAL NET ASSETS(basis of percentagesdisclosed above) - 100%

   $1,572,764,662----------------------------
  % Of net assets. * Non-income producing. (1) Subject to a demand feature as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. As of June 30, 2012, investment cost for federal tax purposes was $1,072,295,832 and the tax basis components of unrealized appreciation/depreciation were as follows: Unrealized appreciation

   $520,242,718Unrealized depreciation

   (35,538,010

   )------------Net unrealized appreciation

   $484,704,708------------------------
  For information on the Fund's policies regarding the valuation of investments and other significant accounting policies, please refer to the Fund's most recent Semiannual or Annual Report to Shareholders. Various inputs are used in determining the value of the Fund's investments relating to Finanacial Accounting Standard No. 157. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad Levels listed below. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The following is a summary of the inputs used as of June 30, 2012 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at value: Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical investments Level 2 - other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.) Level 3 - significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments) InvestmentsValuation Inputs

   in SecuritiesLevel 1 -Common Stocks(1)

   $1,508,671,681Level 2 -Commercial Paper

   45,768,968Variable Rate Security

   2,559,891Level 3 -None

   ---------------Total

   $1,557,000,540----------------------------
  (1) See Schedule above for further detail by industry Page 3


---



Item 2. Controls and Procedures. (a) The Fund's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Fund's disclosure controls and procedures are sufficient to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Fund in this Form N-Q was recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms, based upon such officers' evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report. (b) There were no significant changes or corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Fund's internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect the Fund's internal controls during the last fiscal quarter. Item 3. Exhibits. Certifications of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Act, attached hereto as part of EX-99.CERT. 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)Nicholas Fund, Inc. By:/s/ Albert O. NicholasName: Albert O. NicholasTitle: Principal Executive OfficerDate:08/07/2012 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. By:/s/ Albert O. NicholasName: Albert O. NicholasTitle: Principal Executive OfficerDate:08/07/2012By:/s/ Jeffrey T. MayName: Jeffrey T. MayTitle: Principal Financial OfficerDate:08/07/2012


---