Objective   To explore the prevalence and influencing factors of frailty among elderly residents in communities of Shjiazhuang city and to provide evidences for making plans on elderly frailty intervention.

  Methods   We conducted a face-to-face questionnaire survey among 3 125 residents aged 60 years and above in two communities of Shijiazhuang city between July 2015 and July 2016. We used Comprehensive Frailty Assessment Instrument (CFAI) to assess frailty condition among the elderly.

  Results   The mean frailty score of the participants was 41.01 ± 10.64. Multivariate analysis revealed that significant influencing factors of frailty for the participants included age (β′ = 0.074), marital status (β′ = 0.138), education level (β′ = 0.153), individual balance for income and expenditure (β′ = 0.108), loss of teeth (β′ = – 0.045), tooth function (β′ = 0.188), teeth brushing habit (β′ = 0.037), sleep quality (β′ = 0.057), activities of daily living (β′ = 0.165), pattern of health promotion (β ′= – 0.182), relationship with family members (β′ = 0.129), and role in the family (β′ = 0.096) (P < 0.05 for all).

  Conclusion   Elderly frail is affected by a variety of factors and effective measures need to be taken to reduce the occurrence of the condition.