Abstract: Objective To explore health status and health care needs of elder people living in resthome for improvement of life quality of the elderly.Methods With Self-rated Health Measurement Scale Version 110(SRHMS),289 people(>60 yesrs old)in 10 resthomes and 526 elder people living at home were investigated.Results Among the elderly in resthomes,the prevalence of senile dementia,limitation in activity,and difficulty in self-care were 7.99%,37.37%,and 11.76%,which were 1015,315,and 618 times higher than that of the elderly at home(P<0.05).The proportion of income less than 800 yuan per month,without medical insurance,annual medical expenses more than 6 000 yuan per year were 56.34%,27.53%,and 29.02% among the elderly in resthome,which were significantly higher than that of the elderly at home.Among the elderly in resthomes,38 175% visited doctors more than 5 times a year with a significant lower ratio than that of elderly living at home.Compared with the elderly at home,more elderly in resthomes expected to getrehabilitation service,living security,and respect from others.Conclusion The elderly in resthome need more health care and rehabilitaion service and the irhealth care needs to be improved.