Objective  To explore current situation and influencing factors of utilization of essential public health service (UEPHS) among urban elderly people and to provide references for improving UEPHS.

  Methods  A total of 1 530 residents aged 65 years and over were selected in 51 communities in Dongcheng district of Beijing municipality with two-stage random sampling. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information on participation of physical examination free of charge provided by community health service centers/stations as a indicator of UEPHS among the participants between December 2016 and January 2017. Multilevel model was used to analyze influencing factors of UEPHS.

  Results  Of the participants, 46.7% reported participating in the free physical examination. The multilevel model analysis indicated that with the community health service provided by medical institutions at higher administration level was a promoting factor for the elderly’s participation in the examination (odds ratio OR = 1.92). For the participants, those aged 70 to 75 years (OR = 1.39), suffering from non-communicable chronic diseases (NCD) (OR = 1.47), being a technical personnel before retire (OR = 1.43), being aware of UEPHS (OR = 1.38), and receiving UEPHS-related information mainly through doctors and community facilities (OR = 2.24 and OR = 1.56) were more likely to take part in the physical examination free of charge; while those with the personal monthly income of 4 000 – 4 999 and > 5 000 RMB yuan (OR = 0.51 and OR = 0.23) and those ever having taken a physical examination provided by other medical institutions were less likely to receive the examination.

  Conclusion  The utilization rate of physical examination free of charge was relatively low and both community and individual factors affected the UEPHS among the urban community elderly 65 years old or more. The results suggest effective measures are needed to improve the UEPHS for health promotion among urban elderly community population.